


A Quiet Little War Part III: Breaking Loose

by baybelletrist



Series: The Skollii [4]
Category: Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
Genre: Child Soldiers, F/M, Genetically Engineered Beings, Minor Character Death, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 14:03:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1350073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baybelletrist/pseuds/baybelletrist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the trouble on Brimstone escalates, the Rangers race against time to find a way to prevent catastrophe. And OPS isn't sitting idle...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_The ground shook._

_Startled cries rose to shrieks as Perdition Mesa shuddered in its sleep, struggling against the weight of millennia. Cracks appeared in the rocks above the excavation site._

 

 

Incubation Lab 1

6/23/2099, 1938

 

The small blond girl sat, perched on a lab bench in the dimness of the room. Incubation tanks stretched away into the darkness, lit only by the night lights and the blinking rows of readouts. Other children sat on other benches, chairs, or the floor.

:Does everyone understand?: the girl asked quietly, and felt a chorus of assent. She didn't quite smile, but her cool eyes softened. :Good.: She slid to the floor and walked forward to lay her hand on the tank nearest her. The black-haired baby inside uncurled one tiny fist to reach back.

:Good girl, Judith,: Winter crooned. :You'll be with us soon. They’ll come to take you all to the crèche in the morning.: She glanced around to the other children nearby. :Help each other. Guard each other. No one is to go anywhere alone. Stay near your partners at all times, even in the exam rooms. Especially in the exam rooms. If they separate any of you, call for help. Don't provoke confrontations. Let them think nothing is wrong.: Her face went grim. :If any of you hear _anything_ from Susanna, contact me, John, or Moira _at once_.

:Never forget: We have a purpose... and it's not quite what they think it is.:


	2. Chapter 1

_The shaking continued for several seconds. Tons of stone fell from the cliff faces. It lay in heaps and tumbled piles all around the foot of the mesa, some of it partially obscuring the great stone doors that the researchers had only just dug out._

_Gradually the earth grew still. The survivors climbed cautiously to their feet. Rubble and crushed mining equipment bore silent testimony to the violence slowly waking beneath the ground. Dust blew in eddies around the new, changed landscape as they cautiously began to assess the damage._

 

 

High-security briefing room, Level 15, BETA Mountain

6/26/2099, 2002

 

Joseph Walsh let his eyes rove across the people assembled in the secure meeting room. The Series Five team sat side by side in the front row of seats. Ranger Niko still looked pale and tired. The bones of her face showed too starkly through her skin. Next to the Rangers sat Waldo Zeptic, Zozo, and Q-Ball. Princess Maya of Tarkon, attending remotely by secure transmission, waited onscreen. Commander Nagata in his life support unit floated near Walsh's right elbow.

Walsh cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him. The room grew quiet.

"You've all heard by now that OPS has lost contact with its archaeological team on Brimstone. Ranger Niko received this intelligence from one of OPS' espers, a member of the so-called Skollii Project."

Waldo shook his head. "A bad business," he said. "Shameful."

"Yeah," Zozo added. "I can't believe they've made more kids like that poor girl last year."

"The girl told Niko that the PKF picked up what might have been an aborted distress call from their people at the site, and no one at OPS has been able to reach anyone since."

"Do we know what they're looking for down there?" Q-Ball asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Walsh said. "Ranger Niko?"

The auburn-haired woman stood and moved to the front of the room. "As you all know, some of the Skollii came to BETA recently, asking for asylum. They brought data files with them that have shed a lot of light on OPS' doings in the Brimstone System. This video record was part of that data." Niko started playback on the main screen.

A planet floated in the void, shining blue-green laced with cloud. Stars glittered, cold as chips of ice and with the kind of clarity seen only in space. The ship hung above a great ocean, the terminator clearly visible on the eastern border. On the night side they could see the lights of cities.

From around the darkened curve of the world, bright flowers bloomed. The fire swept across the world like a second terminator, but this daybreak came as fast as the flames could travel, devouring everything and leaving glass deserts in its wake. Gasps arose from the ambassadors. "Horrible," murmured Waldo. "Barbaric!"

On the screen the line of fire reached the ship's position, and suddenly the image dissolved in fire and then static. Niko shut it off with the touch of a fingertip.

"That was awful," Zozo blurted. "What was it?"

"As far as OPS' researchers were able to find out—and I'm inclined to think they were right—it was a transmission from a ship in orbit around that planet," Niko answered. "The planet's entire atmosphere was burned off in the space of a few minutes. There are records of similar events in the material Minako brought us, though the rest are all based around radioisotope dating and other physical evidence. This was the only video image. The data came from a number of sources and was put together into an archive by a researcher named James Atkinson. The commander handed me the portion of Minako's data related to Brimstone and had me go through it with Winter. She was able to shed more light on some of it. We finished just in time for this meeting."

"So that report I dug up _was_ significant," Doc said.

Niko smiled wanly. "Yes," she answered.

"But—how'd they find a _video record_ from that far back?" demanded Doc. "Didn't you tell me the ruins in Atkinson's report were seriously old?"

"They got it from the Great Computer," Niko said. "Maya?"

The Princess of Tarkon said, "I consulted the shaman, and he told me that someone entered the cavern of the Heart of Tarkon some time soon after the Scarecrow first went there, when the Heart was weary and needed rest. That person was able to access the Great Computer and find the information they wanted. The shaman told me that the person had access codes for the computer. She locked the record and used the codes to forbid the computer from telling anyone what had happened."

"How'd they get them?" Q-Ball demanded. "Why don't we have them?" Then, "Wait. How could it tell you if—"

"Easy, Q," Doc said from his seat. "Going by Minako's data, the codes were engraved on a set of tablets found at an installation at one of the bombing sites OPS investigated. The tablets were buried half a mile down in some kind of bomb shelter, deep enough to protect them from the bombardment."

"As for your second question, Doctor Q-Ball, it seems the agent who was sent here was in haste," said Maya. "Her command was 'Notify no one of this visit.'"

Q-Ball's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Wha—"

" _Notify_ implies sending notice," Niko said. "The shaman couldn't initiate a contact to tell anyone about what happened. But once Maya asked the computer about any unauthorized entries, it was able to answer her question because _notify_ could be taken to mean _only_ sending notice, not answering direct questions."

Goose laughed shortly. "That's a good one," he said. "It's about time OPS got a taste of their own word-twisting medicine."

"So does all of this mean the ruins OPS was studying had a connection to the ancient wars that did so much damage on Tarkon?" asked Zach.

"Yes," Maya answered. "The worlds on which those ruins were found must have been part of the same civilization that founded Tarkon. Those who were keeping this secret were doing a great disservice to my people."

"Among others," Doc said.

"The vision I saw makes me sure that the Scarecrow is down there, trying to get to the thing," Niko added, "but I have no real idea how long we have. Not more than a day, I think."

"But why are they still—producing these children?" Zach asked.

"And can we force them to stop?" Waldo added. "They're breaking the treaty Earth signed when it joined the League."

"Minako wasn't sure if it had anything to do with this," Niko said. "What I saw doesn't shed any light on the question one way or the other."

Goose bared his teeth in a silent snarl. "We all know OPS started out making them as spies and assassins," he said coldly. "But in the past few years they've stepped up production by a lot. They must have had a reason. What else could it be?"

"But that doesn't seem to make any sense," Zach objected. "Why would OPS build telepaths to deal with Tarkonian war beings?"

"We don't know," Niko answered. "Commander?"

"I've sent a request directly to the Director of OPS, asking to liaise with them on solving this problem," said Walsh. "So far we haven't heard back, but considering that Winter contacted Niko in the first place, I'm cautiously optimistic."

Waldo frowned. "Winter? Is that the child's name?"

"Correct, Ambassador. Ranger Niko, can you brief the others on what we know about these children?"

The auburn-haired Ranger said, "They're more thoroughly trained than Gaea was, but they're immature minds, still growing. Minako is the second oldest; she's ten years old. Winter is nine. She says her second-in-command, John, is exactly the same age she is. The next oldest who is still with OPS is Moira, who is eight. Winter tells me those three will be working with us outside channels until BETA can pressure OPS into cooperating fully."

The others murmured in surprise. Niko smiled faintly.

"We can thank the girls who attacked me for that. The remaining children have reached a consensus that they have a better idea of their mission than the scientists who created them. Winter said as much to Goose."

The others looked in surprise at the tall Supertrooper. He nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "She said she was created to protect Earth, and that's what she's going to do." He smirked. "I don't think those kids have much patience for political maneuvering or power games. If Winter's anything to go by, the brass at OPS have a few surprises coming."

"That's the best news I've heard all day," Doc said with feeling.

"By the way," said Niko, "there's one other person you need to know about. The oldest Skollii—after Gaea, that is—is named Susanna, but Winter tells me she's left OPS."

Everyone's attention riveted on her.

"Left?" Zach said in disbelief. "I wasn't under the impression that any of those kids could _leave_ OPS. I thought they had to _escape_."

"Well, that's what Susanna did. Winter said she stole a shuttle from the _Resolute_. One of Latham's aides disappeared at the same time and is presumed to have gone with her."

"So that's what was on that shuttle," said Zach.

Doc groaned. "Great. Didn't you say she was the one who instigated all the harassment?"

"Yes. Speaking of which, Minako mentioned that she was sure Susanna's faction could do more in concert than they let on to Latham, and Winter confirmed it," said Niko. "As far as their teacher knew, they could reach as far as people they knew on the station at Titan. But—"

"They had no problem reaching Gaea when they wanted to make her life miserable," Goose growled.

"Nor us in BETA Mountain," Niko said. "But Winter tells me that of the other three girls involved with all of that, one—Susanna—is gone, and the other two have been—disciplined for disobeying their orders not to hurt me."

"Disciplined?" asked Zozo curiously.

Niko turned her eyes toward him. "Their teacher burned out their telepathy," she said. Several of the others drew in horrified breaths. "One of the girls will continue working for OPS as a telekinetic. The other is catatonic. Winter doubts she'll ever recover; she was never the most stable of them in the first place."

"That's revolting," Waldo said.

"Yes," Niko answered, her voice flat. "Anyway, that's all the background data I worked on." She returned to her seat, looking drained. Doc stood and stepped to the podium, leaning on it slightly.

"There were a couple other bits of intriguing intel in that packet," the hacker said. "The one that caught my attention first was a file on a clever little gadget that messes with telepathy. You remember how Gaea couldn't sense the guys sneaking up on her? This thing in the file creates a kind of interference, like white noise, that somehow masks people's minds from telepaths. It's not a hundred percent reliable, but the data showed that it works fairly well, especially when the telepath is tired or stressed."

"Holy shit," Goose said with feeling.

"Yeah, seriously," Doc agreed. "But there's only a few of them so far. They're apparently kind of expensive to make. Anyway, the rest of what's in that packet is interesting but not really germane to the matter at hand." He straightened and returned to his seat.

"What's our mission, Commander?" asked Zach.

"Ranger Niko, Ranger Hartford, I'm sending you to Tarkon. Work with the computer to find out anything you can about the Scarecrow—specifics on capabilities, weaknesses, any and all data that might be of use. In addition, your report after your first contact with the thing on Tarkon said the Heart of Tarkon banished it to another dimension. Find out how it did that. Then get back to the Brimstone System, double time.

"Princess, if you would, please assist the Rangers in any way you're able. Perhaps you could see if the king would grant them permission to fly straight to the computer's location. Otherwise, local transport would be greatly appreciated."

Onscreen, Maya inclined her head. "I'll go now to make the arrangements," she said. "If you have any further requests, you need only ask Geren to relay them."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Walsh answered. He bowed slightly in his seat as the princess closed the connection, then turned his attention back to his team.

"Captain Foxx, Ranger Gooseman, you'll be in command of a task force supervising the evacuation of as many settlers as possible from Brimstone, or at least from the area surrounding the excavation site. The fewer people present when you confront the Scarecrow, the better. Don't provoke the thing. Wait for Niko and Doc if you can. If you can't avoid a confrontation, fight a holding action while the rest of your task force and the PKF get the settlers clear.

"Ambassadors, please bring any pressure you can to bear on your contacts at the Board of World Leaders. We need OPS to work with us on this. They made the mess; we're going to have to clean it up, but we're going to need all the help we can get, even if it is from hands I can't call anything but dirty."

"Of course, Commander," said Waldo.

"I'll be glad to help," Zozo added. "There's not a lot I can do in a situation like this, so it'll be a relief to contribute."

"Thank you," answered Walsh. "Q-Ball, when Niko and Doc's findings arrive, you've got to be ready to respond to them. If there's any technology anywhere in the League of Planets that could help us, figure it out and let me know. Put everything else on the back burner or hand it off to Buzzwang or one of your assistants."

Walsh stood, his eyes running over the people assembled before him.

"Any questions?" he asked, and waited through a moment's silence before continuing. "I'm sending the four of you into an almighty mess," he said gruffly. "Go make me proud. Ambassadors, Q-Ball, thank you. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" the Rangers chorused over the quieter voices of Waldo, Zozo, and Q-Ball. Everyone but Commander Nagata filed out, and Walsh dropped back into his chair, feeling suddenly very tired.

"You seem especially troubled," Nagata noted. "What's wrong, old friend?"

"You mean aside from the obvious?"

"That goes without saying. They've faced the Scarecrow before, Joseph. Is that truly what concerns you right now?"

Walsh sighed. "I never could hide anything from you, Owen. No, it's not. Bad enough that Greer Latham found backing all those years ago to build Gaea, poor girl. But to get confirmation that he's created many more since then—I've had more than a few late nights since I learned about it."

"Which is longer now than your Rangers know, isn't it?"

"Yes," Walsh said heavily. "I can't always tell them everything, much as I might want to. Then Gaea got her message to Goose, he went off on his unauthorized fishing expedition—and a number of senators sent me strongly worded messages suggesting he was on a one-way trip to the cryocrypt if I couldn't keep a handle on him. We don't need any more trouble with genetically engineered soldiers."

"No, but Greer Latham has created it for us in any case. His work for OPS contravenes four separate clauses of the treaty we signed on joining the League."

"Don't remind me. There's going to be hell to pay when this gets out—and it will."

"This is why you involved the ambassadors just now, I think. Better to make it clear BETA had nothing to do with this project, that it's opposed by the majority of Earth's government. Latham has overreached himself badly. You mean to expose the project?"

"As soon as we can guarantee immunity for the children, yes. They didn't ask for this. I don't want them going to the 'crypt any more than I want Gooseman there." Walsh couldn't quite keep the shadow off his face and, looking at Nagata, knew his friend had seen when one corner of the life support unit tipped upward in what Walsh had learned was Nagata's equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

"It's not just his going off on his own that concerns me. I think something happened on his mission to New Petrograd with Ranger Niko."

"On Blackwater?"

"I think so, yes. Neither of them mentioned anything out of the ordinary in their reports. But it doesn't smell right, Owen. Niko's very good—for a human. But she and Goose went up against three Supertroopers, including Ryker Killbane, in hand-to-hand combat, and they won. Does that seem likely to you?"

Nagata paused for a moment before answering. "Now that you mention it, it does not. Do you have any theories?"

Walsh ran a hand over his face. "When Greer Latham's men took Niko to the _Resolute_ , you know she sent an astral projection to her team to get her coordinates to them?"

"Yes, so the report said. You mean, I think, that Ranger Gooseman was able to hear her while the others were not."

"Exactly."

"Do you think their rapport has strengthened? Is that how you think they won against Killbane's group?"

"I think it's pretty clear that it has. And yes, I think it's connected to their mission on Blackwater."

"You think they've become sexually involved?"

Walsh made a pained sound in his throat.

"Don't be naïve, Joseph," Nagata said. "There is still a great deal we don't know about the capabilities of human telepaths, but we know this much. Data recorded during the internment period shows there are several ways to strengthen telepathic bonds. One of the fastest-forming and most binding links is between lovers. You've observed more than once in my presence that there's a clear attraction between the two of them."

"Do you have any idea how fast Wheiner would start agitating to freeze him if he thought—"

"Of course. That is why we will not tell him."

"It's nothing more than a supposition, Owen!"

"No, my friend. It is a theory. And theories can be proved or disproved—with time."


	3. Chapter 2

_The shuttle with its comm terminal proved an early casualty: it, and the comm technician, lay buried under tons of rock._

_The tunnel into the lower excavation site had partially collapsed. Only more dust emerged in response to the team's calls and shouts._

 

 

On board _Ranger One_

6/26//2099, 2116 BETA Mountain time

 

They had been cruising through hyperspace for perhaps ten minutes when Goose got tired of waiting.

"Spit it out, Zach," he said.

Zachary jumped. "You've got eyes in the back of your head," he complained.

"Nah, just great peripheral vision. You've been looking over at me every couple minutes since we left Earth orbit, and while I'd like to think it's my new haircut, I know better. What's on your mind?"

The captain rolled his eyes but responded steadily enough, "You've been something of a loose cannon over the past several months."

"As opposed to what?" Goose asked mockingly.

Zachary looked a bit irritated. "How much longer do you think I can let you go on flouting regulations the way you have been? I don't like what OPS and Greer Latham are doing any more than you do, but we can't go ignoring the rules just because other people are. No, don't lose your temper," Zach added sharply, and Goose unclenched his jaw. 

The captain continued, "Seeing Max Sawyer put you on the track of some data you shouldn't have been looking for. Then finding Gaea brought it all even closer to home. I was hoping that getting her free of OPS would clear things up for you, but we all know you can hold a grudge until it dies of old age, and you obviously are. I want your word you'll play it by the book from now on."

"We'll never get anywhere that way, Captain—"

"We'll get further than we would if you were in the cryocrypt."

"Point," admitted Goose. "Okay—I’m not gonna promise to quit looking for anything I can find that will take that scumbag down, but I will promise to come and talk to you before I do anything."

Zach paused for thought and then nodded—a bit reluctantly, Goose thought. "That's probably the best I'm going to get from you. All right. As for Latham... you still want to send him to jail?"

Goose stared, incredulous. "You got a place he fits better? Besides the one full of fire and brimstone, I mean, no reference to our destination intended."

"Jail's a distant second there," Zach agreed with a short laugh. "But if I know the commander, he's cooking up a way to get immunity for the Skollii so we can move forward with pressing charges. This entire thing has gotten too high-profile to be covered up any more."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Goose said cynically. "You'd be amazed what people will believe just because their government tells them to."

Zach's face grew somber. "No, I wouldn't," he said.

They were silent for a while, and then Zach said, completely straight-faced, "You got a new haircut?"

 

 

 

On board P-38

2129 BETA Mountain time

 

 

As the red streaks of hyperspace passed silently by, Niko and Doc sat and reviewed every bit of data BETA had on the Scarecrow, the Heart of Tarkon, and the Ancient Wars. Presently Doc glanced over at his teammate. She still seemed paler than normal, the circles under her eyes a bit darker, but her face was calm, almost serene. Doc coughed slightly, and she glanced over with a smile that faded as he spoke.

"How are you with all this? I mean, here's this pack of kids who, if they're anything remotely like Gaea, are scary smart and scarier powerful, and they've ditched the school principal. Heck, they've taken over the school, but the grownups haven't figured it out yet."

She laughed a little. "I'm not happy about what OPS has done, of course," she answered, "but speaking with Winter has left me a lot less worried about the future."

"Oh yeah? What about all the harassment?"

"From things Winter said—and didn't say—I think she started becoming uneasy about that some time ago, but she was afraid to stand up to Susanna—who, you may remember, is the oldest."

"Big fish, huh?"

"Yes, something like that. I think Susanna's leaving clinched something that's been building for a while. From what Winter said, it came to a head when Greer Latham had his men take me to the _Resolute_. Winter wasn't happy about that, and she really didn't like what they were being asked to do, but she obeyed orders because they'd been instructed not to—damage me, as she put it. When Susanna and the other three actually started hurting me, she knew she had to act."

"Probably didn't make her any more popular," Doc guessed, and blinked when she shook her head.

"As it happens, several of the other children were aware that the girls in Susanna's clique were doing things they shouldn't be. Winter's—finally—standing up to the other three set her apart and earned the respect of the rest of the Skollii. In fact, showing that much strength made her a leader. They all look to her and to John and Moira now. Those children aren't going to let themselves be used as weapons any longer."

"Yeah, you said she had a second-in-command." He shook his head, half disbelieving. "A nine-year-old kid with a second-in-command. Something wrong with that."

"Some cultures send their children to military school at not much older, Doc," Niko pointed out. "And Minako's data made it clear that the Skollii were designed with brains that mature faster than normal humans'. They're mature for their ages because they're expected to be."

"It's still messed up," Doc argued. "When I was nine I was—uh—" Breaking into my school's database to change my grades, he thought.

"Already getting into trouble, if I know you," she teased.

He grinned. "Too true! Still, there's a difference between a little adventurous hacking—"

"Oh, is that what you call it?"

"Niko, you wound me. —And getting sent out on not-even-slightly-moral secret missions."

Niko's smile tightened. "I think those are at an end," she said, her eyes hard.

"Glad to hear it. Interesting that the kids seem to have picked up some ethics someplace. You can bet cash money they didn't learn it from Latham."

"None of them has said anything," Niko said, "but I got the feeling their teacher was doing his best to instill them with a sense of ethical behavior. It's not as strong as the law we follow on my homeworld, but at least some of them do seem to have a sense of right and wrong."

"But is there anything we can do to help them out? Seems pretty harsh to just leave them in that place. Wherever 'that place' is, which—what did Winter say?"

"They're in eastern Russia."

Doc shuddered theatrically. "That tears it," he said decisively. "We're definitely getting them out of there! Have you _seen_ those ugly fur hats they wear out there? Plus—every kid should get the chance to go to an amusement park at least once. Life just isn't the same until you've eaten cotton candy 'til you puked."

Niko's eyebrows shot upward. "I guess I never knew what I was missing," she said solemnly.

"Niko, my friend, do I have a treat in store for you," Doc told her in unholy glee, and snickered when she wrinkled her nose.

"Can I plead convalescence?" she asked and, when he opened his mouth to push the point, added, "For the rest of my life?"

"Aw, you're—"

"Approaching warp-out into Tarkonian space," GV announced, and further banter was forgotten in their preparations for planetfall.

 

 

 

Commander Walsh's office, BETA Mountain

2214

 

 

"Walsh, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Joseph Walsh gave Senator Wheiner a look of irritation. "I assure you, Senator, I know _exactly_ what time it is," he said coldly. "Are you aware of the situation on Brimstone?"

Wheiner looked ill at ease. "I know about the excavation," he admitted grudgingly. "Are you even cleared to know about it?"

Walsh ignored the question. "Then you've been aware of OPS' doings there from the beginning," he said. He knew he wasn't entirely successful at keeping the contempt from his expression by the way Wheiner's face reddened. "Were you aware that they've lost contact with their people?"

The man waved a dismissive hand. "Some kind of equipment failure, I'm sure."

"I see. And are you aware of the so-called Skollii Project?" 

"Some sort of failsafe for the machinery on Brimstone. I assume it's something like the implant that computer hacker of yours has."

Walsh sat back in his chair. "Not quite," he said, smiling thinly. "The Skollii are people. Children, in fact. _Genetically engineered_ children—with high-level psionics."

For only the second time in his life, Joseph Walsh saw Eric Wheiner struck speechless.

 

 

 

On board _Ranger One_ , at Brimstone System no-fly zone

2226 BETA Mountain time

 

 

_Ranger One_ warped out into a chaos of radio chatter.

_"PKF forces, please respond! What's going on up there?"_

_"Has anyone got news of—"_

_"—stranded in the Perditions—"_

_"—reports of further seismic—"_

_"'Further seismic activity,' hell! It's just plain more earthquakes, and big 'uns, is what—"_

" _More_? Space," Goose said, with feeling, and cut the volume. "Guess we'd better get on the horn before they challenge us."

"From the sound of it, that could take a while. They've obviously got enough to deal with already." Zach keyed the comm terminal.

"PKF cruiser _Aegis_ , this is Captain Zachary Foxx of the Galaxy Rangers," he said. "I need to speak with Commander Irving immediately." A moment later a familiar Andorian face appeared on the ship's screen.

"Captain Foxx," Flato said with a notable lack of enthusiasm. "I will see if the commander is available."

"Thank you," Zach said, but the comm officer had already engaged the hold screen.

"He's probably telling the guys down in the hangar to go start warming the tar," said Goose in an uncharacteristically subdued voice. Zach snorted and had just opened his mouth to reply when Commander Irving appeared on the comm screen.

"Commander," Zach said, straightening.

"Captain Foxx," Irving replied in a colorless voice. "How can I help you?"

"I've got an update for you on the situation on the ground," Zachary answered. "In short—we're here from BETA with orders to evacuate as many settlers as possible from the surface of Brimstone."

Irving looked shocked.

"May we have permission to land?"

"Yes, of course. I'll issue the orders immediately. Flato will transmit a flight plan shortly."

"Thank you, sir," said Zach. "Zachary Foxx out."

 

 

 

Commander Irving's office, on board _Aegis_

2243 BETA Mountain time

 

 

Commander Irving's face grew red. "A _black ops cover-up_?" he demanded. "Four good men died because—" His voice failed in his outrage.

"Yes, sir," Zachary answered, and Irving started to rise from his chair.

"The PKF is not going to—"

"Do anything about this _right now_ ," Zach said firmly. "Sir. Please, sit." He waited until Irving resumed his seat before continuing. "Commander Walsh and Ambassadors Waldo Zeptic and Zozo are putting as much pressure as possible on the Board of World Leaders to ensure that the people responsible for all of this are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"In the meantime, there's an unholy mess down there on Brimstone, and from the sound of the radio chatter as we were coming in, there are in fact settlers stranded near the source of the disturbance. I need you to work with me on coordinating evacuation efforts."

"Disturbance," repeated the commander. "I've read the reports on the Scarecrow, Captain. _Disturbance_ would cover it if spread very thinly."

"Sir, time is of the essence here," Goose put in calmly. "May I be excused to start briefing your people while you and Zach set up plans? We're going to need every pilot we can get, down to packet-boat relief pilots." Irving looked dubious, and Goose added, "You can count on my discretion, sir. No one's ready for the whole truth about the _Saoirse_ case to come out yet."

"I don't know—"

"You _can_ count on him, Commander," said Zachary firmly. "Ranger Gooseman knows more about confidentiality than anyone else I've ever met. Recall his background, if you would."

Irving blinked, looking bemused for a moment until light dawned. "Ah," he said. "Of course." He shook his head. "Of course, Ranger Gooseman. If you'll give me a moment, I can order a general assembly of every able-bodied rated pilot—eh?" He raised his head at an arrested motion from Goose.

"No need to tell them who's coming, sir. Things'll go more smoothly if they don't have time to get worked up before I get there."

Irving blinked again and then smiled sourly. "True enough. Go ahead, then. I'll call an all-hands meeting for anyone who can keep a boat in the air. Meet them down in Briefing Room One. Pallas can direct you." He unplugged a handheld from his terminal and held it out. Goose took it and stepped back.

"Thank you, sir," he said, saluted, and was gone.

Zach waited courteously while Irving gave the order for the pilot briefing. The commander closed the comm connection and looked up to find Zachary watching him.

"Well. That's taken care of that, then," Irving said.

"Thank you, sir," Zach answered. "With respect to coordinating forces, it was my hope you'd take on overall command of the evacuation. My team is going to be busy dealing with the Scarecrow, and you're already established as an authority in this system. The locals know you."

"I suppose so," said Irving. "Aside from your team, what sort of assistance can we expect from BETA?"

"Commander Walsh is sending as many ships as he can scrape together to assist with the evacuation. We won't have a count for a few more hours yet, but we can get started with the ships already in-system or within short-range jump distance."

Irving nodded slowly. "And what about the rebels?" he asked. He looked as though he was not expecting to like the answer.

"Oh, they exist," Zach assured him. "But OPS has been supplying them with ammunition and fuel for months now as a justification for maintaining the no-fly zone. Our data suggests it's been a couple of weeks since the last delivery, and I think it's safe to say there won't be another."

Zach saw the commander's jaw tighten, but the man's voice was level as he said, "My people have spent time, effort, tears, and _lives_ on this obscene charade. Jail is too good for the people who authorized this."

"As it happens, I agree with you," Zach said evenly. "I did not sign up to wear this uniform to let power-hungry, amoral men use me and my team to forward their personal and political agendas on the backs of innocent people, and I will not sit still for it."

Irving extended his hand, and Zachary shook it.

"Let's get this plan hammered out," said Irving. "I've got family back on Mars I haven't seen in months."

 

 

 

Briefing Room One, on board _Aegis_

2300 BETA Mountain time

 

 

As Goose's wrist comm turned over the new hour, he entered the briefing room. He had waited nearby until Irving's AI Pallas told him all of the ship's pilots had assembled, preferring to give the crowd exactly no time at all in which to grow ugly. As the door opened, the pilots in the first few rows of seats turned to see who was entering the room, and they stopped talking as if someone had flipped a switch.

Silence spread through the room as Goose headed to the podium. He could see glances being exchanged, a few faces growing tense or hard or angry, but so far no one had said a word. He stopped next to the podium rather than behind it, not wanting to put that physical barrier between himself and the crew of the _Aegis_ , and surveyed the room. The assembled pilots were mostly humans, though Goose counted four Kiwis, three Andorians, and lone members of a couple of other races. Well over half were men.

"You probably already know that there's trouble down on Brimstone," he said with no preamble. "I'm Galaxy Ranger Lieutenant Shane Gooseman. Captain Zachary Foxx and I have been sent here to coordinate an evacuation of as many civilians as possible from the area of the disturbance. Commander Irving tells me it's been announced as seismic activity. What's actually going on down there is a lot worse. How many of you have heard of the Scarecrow?"

He saw a few people taken aback, exchanging glances, and finally several hands went up. Most of the rest of the assembled pilots looked dubious.

"Right. What's going on down there is that a very nasty character called the Scarecrow is trying to restart a war that ended when all Earth had going was a bunch of  Neanderthals. The Galaxy Rangers are going in to stop him, but before we can do that we've got to get the civilians clear. Any questions so far?"

One hand went up. "Yeah," said the owner, a stocky, black-haired man with a belligerent voice. "Why should we listen to you?"

Goose looked at him for a long moment before lifting Commander Irving's handheld and flipping up the cover. The AI Pallas took shape, floating above the holographic display. "Pallas, who's the moron who just shot off his mouth?" he asked.

"Specialist Alvin Rausch, Ranger Gooseman," she answered. "Action?"

"Yeah. Please. Report his ass for insubordination. —You," he said to Rausch. "The only reason I'm not _throwing you bodily the hell out of this room_ is that I need every. Single. Pair of hands that can keep a plane, boat, or ship in the air—down there on Brimstone airlifting colonists to safety." He ran his eyes over the people in front of him.

"Now. Any _good_ questions?" he asked.

A few hands went up. Goose picked one at semi-random, a very tall, slender woman in a grease monkey's coverall that bore no rank insignia.

"Yeah. You. Your name?"

"Nerissa Rodriguez, Ranger Gooseman. Lieutenant." The red-haired woman bit her lip. "Uh, look," she said uncertainly. "Uh, no offense, but—" She broke off.

"You wanna know why Commander Irving put me in front of this room after what happened to your crewmates. That it?" asked Goose brutally. Gasps arose from many of the pilots.

Rodriguez looked as though he'd slapped her. He caught the sheen of tears in her eyes.

Crap. Was she bunking down with one of those four?

Glaring, the woman next to her started to put an arm around Rodriguez' shoulders, but the redhead shrugged her off, her milky skin mottled red with anger and mortification.

"Look, Lt. Rodriguez—the only reason _any_ of you should need is that your CO sent me. But just so we get this out in the clear: your crewmates got shafted. Got me? _Shafted._ And not by anyone in a Ranger uniform."

A buzz of whispers swelled.

"SHUT IT!" Goose bellowed in a voice trained to carry on interstellar battlefields.

Silence.

Much more gently, speaking to Nerissa Rodriguez alone, he said, "I'm not at liberty to say more. I'm sorry."

Her face still red, she met his eyes with simple indignation. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "We've got a mission now. You gonna be able to carry it off?"

She glared. "Sir! Yes, sir!" she snapped. "I can carry off anything you can throw at me. Sir."

Goose's stomach muscles tightened in a reflexive reaction. In his mind's eye, another red-haired woman tossed her head and laughed.

_"I can_ handle _anything you can dish out, mister, so bring it on."_

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I know." Then, more loudly, "Commander Irving and Captain Foxx will be transmitting an evac plan to Pallas any time now. Any other questions?"

A few more hands went up, and Goose went around the room answering their queries. No, he told one man, you won't be going into a combat zone unless you're rated for it. No, he told another, I won't be coordinating the evacuation, your commander will be. Yes, he told an Andorian woman, medevac pilots will be needed too. Especially medevac pilots. Finally there were no more raised hands.

"Okay," he said. "We're all flying by the seat of our pants, people, and you're heading into a serious mess. Anyone thinks they can't hack it, needs to be working evac a little further from the epicenter, tell me up front, because if you tell me you're good and you walk out there and you muff it, I will kick your ass myself. _We are not leaving anyone down there with that thing._ "

He looked over the room again. No one said a word.

"Ranger Gooseman," Pallas said, "the commander has transmitted the evacuation plan."

"Good, thanks. On my screen, please."

Lists of personnel began streaming down the screen of the handheld; diagrams sketching out first, second, third waves of ships appeared. Goose ran his eyes down the screen, making sure he understood it before he had Pallas display the plan for the assembled pilots.

"All right," said Goose. "On the main screen, Pallas. —Okay," he said, turning back to the room. "Here's how it's gonna be. Fighter pilots will go in first to clear out the remaining rebels. Once we've got a clear run to the surface, the armed transports will evac the civilians closest to the Scarecrow's vicinity while the light shuttles and packet boats start lifting out people farther away. Pallas and the other PKF AIs will be transmitting your pickup assignments on the fly." As he spoke, he drew with his stylus on the handheld screen, and the strokes translated to symbols on the large screen behind him.

"We're starting with just the people in a hundred-mile radius. We'll worry about the settlers farther away once the ships from BETA arrive. Everyone is to drop evacuees at designated points at the spaceport. If necessary, they can be lifted out en masse later by the relief ships." Goose fixed them with a stern eye and said, "The official story is that we're evac'ing the colonists because of tectonic instability. No one is to mention the Scarecrow in the hearing of any non-PKF or non-BETA personnel. We don't want a panic on our hands; they're messy and I don't feel like doing the paperwork."

He touched a few keys and used his stylus to tap the Transmit button. A moment later came the sound of eighty-three handhelds all beeping at once.

"Right. You've all got the plan. Study it. Make sure you understand your part. If there's something that would keep you from doing your part, tell me or your direct CO. Any questions?" He waited through several seconds of quiet and then closed out the big screen. "Right. Dismissed to duty stations. And pilots—fair lift and good hunting."


	4. Chapter 3

_Rescue efforts had been underway for several hours when the earth shook again. Cries of dismay came from the group lifting rubble out of the tunnel. The tremors grew stronger, dropping more rock from the face of the mesa and knocking everyone off their feet._

_With a rumble, the tunnel collapsed._

 

 

 

The Cavern of the Heart, Tarkon

6/26/2099, 2309 BETA Mountain time

 

Niko and Doc had barely set foot across the threshold of the cavern when the hologram of the shaman resolved in the air of the great cave.

"Doc. Niko," the computer greeted them. "The princess has told me of your mission. I will do what I can to help. You have questions for me?" 

"Yeah," Doc said. "For starters, how do we beat the Scarecrow?"

Points for directness, thought Niko, hiding a smile.

The shaman looked puzzled. "Have you not defeated him before?"

"Not exactly," answered Niko. "In our first encounter with the Scarecrow, he ran out of a burning building and vanished. In a later meeting, he was caught in an explosion, but he obviously survived somehow. When we fought him here for the first time, we didn't defeat the Scarecrow—the Heart of Tarkon did. It said it would use his own power to send him to somewhere it called the Dimension of Souls."

"And so it did," the old man agreed.

"Of course, he escaped eventually," Doc put in dolefully. "Seems like bad guys always do. How come they always do that, Niko?"

She gave him her best _unimpressed_ look and turned back to the shaman. "Then, finally, you seemingly destroyed him on the day the Crown invaded."

"I believe the term Doctor Q-Ball used when he was here was _power overload_ ," the shaman said. "That is the only way I know to defeat him."

Doc and Niko exchanged dismayed looks. "That explosion came from a space drive blowing up," Doc said to the shaman. "Way more energy than any of us can carry around." He blew out his breath. "Well, we'll think of something," he said.

"We usually do," agreed Niko. The shaman smiled at her.

"But you had more questions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Doc said. "Like, what's buried under that site on Brimstone?"

The old man said, "I do not know the name _Brimstone_. Can you give me coordinates?"

Doc unclipped his CDU. "Okay, Pathfinder," he said, hitting his badge. "Get out here and enlighten the man."

Pathfinder zipped out of the port and circled Doc's head once before blipping through the Heart's interface screen. Characters and symbols flashed across the screen in the blink of an eye.

"Ah," the shaman said. "I know it now. A bad place for your kind, Doc."

"Yeah, well, there are already several thousand settlers down there, so we're gonna have to work with what we've got," Doc answered crisply. "What's buried there? We got word it might be a Tarkon war being. That right?"

The shaman hesitated, looking unhappy. "This information has been locked behind a security code."

Doc grinned. "Now that I can help you with. I loaded everything we got from our source onto my CDU. So—" He sent the data with the touch of a button. "One of these do it?"

The shaman's face split in a wide smile. "Ah, that is good," he said cheerfully. "Yes, I may speak now. As you have guessed already, a war being was indeed buried at that site near the end of the Ancient War. It is very like the Sleeper which you encountered the first time the Scarecrow came here."

"Uh—that's bad," said Doc. "We could've lost that one without the Heart on our side."

"Truly," agreed the shaman.

"Is there a computer at the Brimstone site?" Niko asked. 

"There was once," the shaman said, "but I do not know if it is still functioning."

Doc fidgeted with his CDU. "Well, if there's no computer to fire—wait, there are fortresses on Tarkon's moons—that's how the Heart shut down the Sleeper. Are there—?"

The old man raised a hand, and Doc broke off. "Yes," the shaman said, "just as on Tarkon, there are fortresses on each of the planet's four moons."

Doc and Niko looked at each other. "Uh," said Doc to the shaman, "Brimstone's only got one moon—and an asteroid belt." A look of consternation came over the old man's face.

"They must have been destroyed in the war," Niko said in dismay. "Without a computer and without those fortresses, how do we shut down the war being buried on Brimstone?"

"I can give you the codes you would need to use the computer," said the shaman. "It is possible, though difficult, to control the war being with the computer. But if the computer is no longer functioning, you would need to connect directly to the war being to control it."

Niko and Doc exchanged glances again. "What, like with my CDU?" asked Doc.

"It might work," the shaman said dubiously. "But you have a higher likelihood of success if you connect with it without the use of a computer as an intermediary."

"Connect directly?" Niko said. "How?"

The shaman looked surprised. "Why, with your mind, of course," he said.

 

 

 

Main hangar bay, on board  _Aegis_ , Brimstone orbit

2321 BETA Mountain time

 

Zach and Goose were walking across the hangar toward _Ranger One_ when Goose saw a flash of red hair and made an instant decision.

"Gimme a minute, Captain?" he asked Zachary. "Got something I need to clear up with someone."

"Sure, Goose," Zach answered, looking puzzled. "I'll be in the cockpit. We can't head out until Niko and Doc get back, anyway."

"Yeah. Thanks," said Goose, and he turned and trotted across the hangar toward the fighters being prepped for launch.

He was only a couple of meters away when Nerissa Rodriguez looked up from checking her suit seals and caught sight of him. He saw her waver for a moment, clearly torn about whether to acknowledge him. Behind her, the tech running through the preflight check looked around, saw him, and scowled.

"Lieutenant," Goose said, stopping a few feet away.

"Ranger Gooseman," she answered warily. She followed his gaze to the tech and stepped away from her plane, closer to Goose. "What do you want?"

"Wanted to clear the air," he said.

"Is that what you call it?" she retorted acidly.

He shrugged. "You can call it whatever you want. I'm sorry I upset you." Stupid worthless words, but since humans think they're so important... he thought, recalling another conversation in a hangar. Can't say I never learn from experience.

She was staring incredulously at him. "That's supposed to make me feel better, is it?" she demanded. 

Do they give the redheads a script at birth? But he raised his hands placatingly and offered an apologetic expression. "Hey, okay, I stuck my foot in my mouth so bad I'm gonna be flossing shoe leather out of my teeth for a month. It was a lousy thing to say."

"Yes," she answered flatly, but her gaze had lost some of its hostility.

"Were you—how well did you—"

"Paulo Echevarria and I were engaged," she said. Goose winced.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he told her, and the sorrow was genuine. That's all kinds of messed up. Sometimes there really ain't no justice.

"You really can't tell me any more?"

He sighed. "I wish I could. Tell you what, we all get through all of this in one piece and I'll sit down and tell you what I can over coffee. Deal?" He put out his hand, feeling unwontedly tentative, and was a little startled when she took it. From the corner of his eye he saw that the tech working on her plane was startled too.

"Deal," she said firmly. "I've got to get back to preflight now."

"Yeah," he answered, and he stepped back and offered a salute. "Good hunting, Lieutenant."

"Same to you, Ranger."

 

 

From the cockpit of _Ranger One_ , Zach and Goose watched the fighters launch. Goose couldn't hold back a small sigh.

"Wish you were going, Goose?"

He glanced over at Zach. "Got me, Captain," he admitted ruefully. "I'd rather be doing something than sitting here."

"You always say that. File another report."

"You always say that."

 

 

 

Commander Walsh's office, BETA Mountain

2330

 

 

Walsh sat at his desk, addressing three senators from the Board of Leaders. They were the second group he had spoken to in the last hour, and they weren't proving any easier to convince.

The oldest senator, a man from China, demanded, "Can you prove these assertions, Commander?"

"As it happens, yes, Senator Zhou, I can."

"You must admit that it's a wild-sounding story," said the senator from Brazil.

"Yes, ma'am," answered Walsh in resignation. "However, the fact remains that it's happened, and we've got to deal with it. The ambassadors from Andor and Kirwin are horrified. We'll be lucky if this doesn't blow up in our faces, Senators. Ambassador Zeptic of Andor has already been in touch with the Premier, who assured him of the Board's fullest cooperation. It's imperative that the Board of World Leaders act unanimously to censure the people responsible. Yes, Senator Spiros?"

The senator from Greece, caught shifting in his seat, looked suddenly even more uncomfortable. "Uh—" he said. "I, uh—yes, censure. I, uh, totally agree." The senator from Brazil was watching the Greek man in puzzlement. He fumbled out a handkerchief and mopped his forehead.

"Someone on the Budget Committee had to have signed off on funds for this," mused Senator Zhou. "Spiros, you're on Budget; do you have any ideas?"

"Uh—n-no, I don't."

"Commander, have you—" Zhou started, but he broke off when Walsh shook his head.

"Not yet, sir. We're working on it. We have our suspicions," added Walsh, keeping a close eye on Senator Spiros.

Who gulped.

The Brazilian senator had caught the tiny motion, too, and her eyes widened in shocked disbelief. "Demetrios, did you know anything about this?" she demanded.

"No! Uh, Calixta, I, uh—" Under her glare he stumbled to a halt.

Walsh cut in, "Senator Maciereira, the ambassadors aren't on a witch hunt; their governments just want prosecution of the guilty parties and the World Federation's assurance that this kind of thing isn't going to keep happening. Anyone found to have been involved will be dealt with."

"This is outrageous!" Senator Zhou snapped. "Even members of the Board are breaking the treaty that made us part of the League? Senator Spiros, you disgust me. This cannot continue. Commander Walsh, you have my full support in this matter. I'm going now to discuss this with my colleagues from Asia."

"One more moment, please, Senator," said Walsh hastily. "The children are not responsible for the situation they've been placed in. I want your assurance that they'll be given immunity from prosecution or punishment."

Maciereira's eyebrows shot up. Even Zhou looked doubtful. "Well—" he began.

"Of course they'll need to be supervised by the government," Walsh said. "They've already indicated they'll accept that. But there's no need to send them all to the cryocrypt. They've expressed a willingness to enter government service, doing legitimate work. One of the girls has become a leader among them; she's said that they were created to protect Earth, and that's what they all want to do—lawfully. Will that be satisfactory?"

"What if they change their minds?" asked the Brazilian senator.

Walsh gave her a grim smile. "I don't think that's going to happen, ma'am, but if it does, we have the Series Five Rangers to take care of it."

"That's acceptable to me," Maciereira said.

Zhou bowed his head slightly. "Yes."

"Uh—yes." Spiros licked his lips. Zhou's eyebrows shot up.

"If you were really part of helping this project get funding, I don't think you'll have much to say about it, Senator Spiros," the Chinese man said. "Convicted criminals cannot hold public office."

"But I—"

"Demetrios?" said Senator Maciereira sweetly. "Shut up. Commander, you have my full support. If there's nothing else you need?"

"No, thank you, ma'am. I appreciate your making the time to speak to me at such an unreasonable hour."

"Unreasonable situations require unreasonable solutions," she answered, and rang off.

"Thank you, Commander Walsh," Zhou said, and he too closed his connection.

Walsh and Senator Spiros stared at each other. Finally Walsh sat back, set his elbows on the armrests of his chair, and folded his hands.

"Start talking, Senator," he said. "I'm all ears."

 

 

 

P-38

2347 BETA Mountain time

 

 

The moment their little ship tore free from Tarkon's gravity well, Doc took it into warp. He glanced over at Niko.

"You sure you got what you needed from the shaman?" he asked her. "About connecting to the war being, I mean?"

She nodded. She was leaning back against her seat, looking drained.

"Well, good, 'cause I didn't understand the half of it."

"Did you understand his explanation of how the Heart sent the Scarecrow to another dimension?"

"Mostly. It's in my CDU, so if nothing else, I can give the info to Q. Why don't you take a rest now? You look beat."

Niko only nodded again. She was asleep inside of a minute. Doc blew out a breath, worried.

"Hey, Elma," he said softly. "Lower her seat back a little, give her a more comfortable place to sleep. And what do we have in the way of emergency rations?"

"This ship is equipped with standard ration kits," Elma answered.

"We got any of that high-calorie paste stuff?"

"Affirmative. Do you wish me to preheat some?"

He wrinkled his nose. "No, thanks. Just be ready to warm it up when she wakes up. Girl needs to eat. If she collapses while I'm around, I'll never hear the end of it from Zach. And don't _get_ me started on what Goose'll do."

"Understood, Doc," answered Elma. She sounded ever so slightly amused.

Doc reached forward to open a link to BETA but then glanced over at his sleeping teammate. Not wanting to wake her, he quickly tapped out a report summarizing their findings from Tarkon and then routed the transmission to BETA.

"What's our ETA at Brimstone System, Elma?" he asked quietly.

"Twenty-seven minutes," the AI replied.

Doc sighed. "Guess I'd better at least try to get a report or two done. Warn me at five minutes to warp-out so I can wake up Sleeping Beauty here."

 

 

 

_Ranger One_ , onboard _Aegis_

6/26/2099, 2348 BETA Mountain time

 

 

Zach sat engrossed in reports, but Goose couldn't keep his mind on the work in front of him. The radio, turned low, carried chatter from the PKF channel to Goose's earclips.

_"Watch it, Charlie Four! Wicked wind shear off that hill."_

_"Bombs away, right up their noses!"_

_"Alpha Flight objective achieved, target installation destroyed. Second wave, your turn. Go blow shit up."_

_"Echo copies, Alpha. Echo Flight, we're up next. Prep for strafing run."_

Goose sat up straighter as he recognized Nerissa Rodriguez' voice. Zach glanced over at him.

_"Wilco, Echo One. Prepping for strafe."_

_"Delta Flight, prepare for run."_

Goose returned Zach's gaze and removed one earclip, cocking an eyebrow in question as the chatter continued.

"I'd rather be down there, too," said Zachary quietly. "How the battle going?"

Goose stretched. "So far, so good," he answered—but he jerked forward as the radio erupted in shouts.

_"Charlie Two to Aegis! Taking heavy fire, my wing's shot to hell—"_

_"Where the hell did they get heavy guns?"_

_"Pull out, Charlie Flight! Echo Flight will take over—"_

A burst of noise and static. Goose ripped off his remaining earclip, his ear ringing, and slapped the switch to open _Ranger One_ 's comm terminal. Shouts and screams burst from the radio.

_"Delta One to Aegis control, Charlie Flight down, Echo Flight down, heavy guns emplaced at primary target site! Those bastards have started lobbing the big shit at us!"_

_"Roger, Delta One. Alpha Flight, Bravo Flight, return to target site."_

_"We're practically out of ammo! What the fuck do they want us to use, harsh language?"_

_"Belay that, Bravo Five. Wilco, Aegis. We'll do what we can."_

Goose sat back, frustration, sadness, and anger roiling inside him.

"The rebels must not have been prepared to bring the cannon to bear right away," Zach said quietly.

"Yeah," Goose said. "Sometimes—this world is really, seriously fucked up."

They sat in quiet as the battle continued. Zach wasn't even trying to work on reports now, Goose noticed. The fighters kept strafing the rebel position, and gradually the balance shifted toward the PKF forces.

The comm beeped. Doc's face popped onto the screen. Goose sat up.

"P38 to _Ranger One_ , come in! Zach, my captain, have we got news for you!"

 

 

 

_Ranger One_ , onboard _Aegis_

6/27/2099, 2414 BETA Mountain time

 

 

"Power overload? That's _it_?"

"Read it and weep, my Goose man."

"We are so screwed."

Doc snickered. "The voice of the wet blanket."

Zach sighed a silent internal sigh and said, "Cut it out, you two. Niko, do you thi—"

"Captain, there's an incoming transmission," announced GV. "Opening channels."

The delicate face of a blond girl resolved on the comm screen. "—ourier ship _Hermes_ to _Ranger One_ , please respond."

Goose and Zach exchanged surprised glances.

Who—? She can't be any older than Jessica. In fact, she looks even younger.

"Who—" Goose started, and stopped as Niko leaned forward into pickup range and toggled the comm to reply. 

"Winter," Niko said sternly, "what are you doing here?"


	5. Chapter 4

_A dark figure appeared at the edge of the excavation site. The scientists, fully occupied with the rescue work, noticed nothing until it was far too late. Then blue light arced over them all where they stood or crouched or lay, and one by one they grew still._

_Grid markers blinked silently across the excavation. Nothing else moved but the wind in the grass. The wind grew stronger as the figure approached the doors._

 

 

 

 

On board _Aegis_

6/27/2099, 2432

 

 

The Series Five team stood next to _Ranger One_ , watching a sleek courier ship maneuver to a landing in _Aegis_ ' hangar. Commander Irving had accepted Zach's explanation with a look that said pretty clearly that someone was going to hear about this, and they were not going to be happy about it when they did.

"I'll leave this party to you, Captain," he'd said. "I have a rescue operation to mount and less than no time for dealing with—that."

Zach had agreed, not that he'd had much choice. Still, Goose reflected, it was just as well. Better to minimize the exposure of the _Aegis_ ' crew to the Skollii.

Fewer people to put the fear of courts martial into, later.

The main hatch of the courier ship cycled open. First down the ramp was a tall boy with brown hair and a look of self assurance that was startling on such a young face. He wore a charcoal-grey uniform and black gloves. Next came a black-haired girl whose dark eyes flicked here and there about the hangar. Alone of all of them, her jumpsuit was black. Then, walking together, came a smaller boy and a girl with red-gold hair. While the boy seemed shy and uncertain, the girl wore a look of easy confidence. Finally came Winter and an older redheaded girl with a serious face. The other children stood aside to let Winter come to the front of the group. She stepped toward the Rangers and studied them one by one.

"Hello," she said finally. "We're here to help." She gestured to the tall boy. "This is John. He and Moira—" she indicated the older redhead— "are my seconds. If I'm not able to speak for the group, one of them will take over."

"And just what is it you think you're going to do here?" Zach demanded.

Goose glanced around at the techs and mechanics at work nearby. No one was obviously staring, but he felt the pressure of attention regardless. "Captain," he said, "is this really the venue for this discussion?"

 

 

The Rangers and the Skollii sat in the Nav Bay, chairs arranged facing each other. Though the adults had offered seats to the Skollii, the children seemed to prefer perching on chair arms and the floor. As the last person settled down, Winter spoke.

"You've already been introduced to John and Moira." Winter gestured to the girl with the red-gold hair. "This is Cecia," she said. Cecia raised a hand in greeting and smiled. Winter tipped her head toward the black-haired girl; Goose thought she was about the same age as Moira. "This is Talisa." Finally Winter indicated the shy-looking, brown-haired boy at Cecia's elbow. "And this is Gervaise." The kid ducked his head. Cecia patted his knee, and something seemed to pass silently between them: Gervaise straightened a little and raised his eyes from the floor.

"I still want to hear why you're here," Zach said stubbornly.

"Yeah, and how did you convince OPS to let you come?" Doc chimed in.

John said blandly, "We're very persuasive."

"Uh—" Doc looked suddenly nervous.

"Ambassador Zeptic and Commander Walsh were able to put pressure on the right people," Cecia explained. "Dr. Latham may be in charge of our creation and training, but he doesn't have final say in strategic matters. Other people made the decision, and he had to abide by it. And as John said, we were able to advance an argument that with Ranger Niko still not operating at full capacity, you might be able to use our help."

Winter was still looking at Zach. She said, "Talisa was being trained as an assassin—" Zach twitched, but she ignored it and continued, "so she has extremely strong offensive control of her psychokinesis. Gervaise is a firestarter. Ranger Niko mentioned that the Scarecrow doesn't seem to like fire."

"Understatement, anyone?" mumbled Doc.

Zach stared at her. "An _assassin_?"

"You knew it was part of the plan for them, Zachary," Niko reminded him quietly.

"Yes, but—"

Winter cut him off. "Do you have a plan for dealing with the Scarecrow?" she asked him. Zach opened his mouth to protest and the girl raised a hand to stop him. "Please," she said quietly.

"We were working on a strategy when you showed up," Goose said. Zach shot him a dark look, which Goose paid no heed to. "We were talking about ways to shut down the war being that's buried down there. The computer on Tarkon told Doc and Niko there are two ways to control it. The first way is getting control of the computer at the excavation and using it to shut the thing down. The other option's only open to telepaths, means connecting to it and telling it to go back to sleep. On top of all that, we've got to figure out how to take out the Scarecrow."

"Ranger Niko," Winter asked, "were you going to connect to the war being?"

Niko hesitated. "I'm still drained from my fight with Susanna's group." Goose noted that a shadow passed across Winter's face, but Niko's voice didn't falter. "It's possible I may not be able to make the link."

"That's why we're here," said Winter, "to help however we can. We've been trained to work in linked groups, so we can support you in making a connection. We're fortunate that Talisa also has a gift for manipulating energy flows that sometimes allows her to affect computers directly, so her abilities can serve as a strong adjunct to yours."

Niko looked thoughtful. "It could work," she said.

"You're going to connect with Niko from here?" Zach asked skeptically.

Winter looked at him. "Perhaps," she answered.

Nice dodge, kid, thought Goose.

Winter continued, "Let's assume we'll be able to help her and go from there. I should note that we've also had extensive training in connecting espers and non-espers together. Such group connections represent a major advantage in coordinating actions."

"No way am I letting any of you kids in my head," Goose snapped. I barely let Niko in my head, and that's about as crowded as I'm ever gonna let it get in here. From the wry look Niko darted at him from the corner of her eye, she was having no trouble following the direction of his thoughts.

"It's not necessary," answered Winter. "Ranger Niko can link with you; we can link with her. "

"But the rest of us—" Zach started.

"You can manage a link with them, can't you?" Winter asked Niko.

"Not as easily. I've had to connect with Goose's mind before, but I've never needed to link to Doc at all, and I've only worked that way with Zachary once," Niko said.

Winter frowned.

"I'll get along without it," said Zach. "I've never been crazy about the idea of letting anybody into my mind, anyway."

"No," Niko said definitely. "I've seen him control innocents before. Maya attacked me on his orders, remember? You'll need to be defended, but in my current condition I won't be able to keep up that kind of shield for more than a few seconds. And it's out of the question for me to face him physically. I've lost too much muscle mass for that."

Winter winced. Niko ignored the movement and continued, "We really do need help with this, Zach. Winter, how many of you will need to be part of the linked group in order for us to achieve our objective?"

"Moira has a natural talent for linking groups together," said Winter. "She'll be linking all of us Skollii and leaving me free to more directly assist you, Ranger Niko. However, that doesn't preclude any of us from linking with any of you. It's slightly easier to defend someone against mental attack if you're directly linked to them, so if any of you want a link partner, just ask."

Goose saw Doc quirk an eyebrow and look at the children. Cecia caught his eye and smiled. He looked startled but then smiled back uncertainly, started to speak, and stopped. "I bet you know what I'm about to say," he told her.

"I do," she answered mischievously, "but I like to hear you say it."

Doc looked startled for a moment, but then a huge grin split his face. "Woohoo!" he crowed. "Finally somebody to appreciate my movie quotes!"

She laughed. "You don't have to link with me if you don't want to, but the offer is open. Regardless of your decision—I've got one of the Project's highest ratings on psychokinetic fine manipulation, so I can assist you with your work on the computer."

"Now wait just a minute," Zach cut in. "I do not take children into combat."

We've got to nip that in the bud, Goose reflected.

Winter glanced over at Zachary. After a moment's pause, she replied, "But we're not children, Captain. We're Skollii."

"Of course you're ch—"

"She's right, Zach," Goose said evenly. "Chronologically they're kids. But I've seen the files same as you have. Their cognitive development has been accelerated. Some of them were fully telepathic before they even came out of the tanks. They're faster and more resistant to disease and infection, and they have higher pain thresholds than any _Homo sapiens_ you'll ever meet." His brows drew down. "They may still lack the physical development to go toe-to-toe with an adult, but they're soldiers. Don't insult them by insisting they're not."

Zach's jaw tightened.

"He's right," Niko said softly. "They're both right. We need them, Zachary. Ordinarily I'd agree with you, but this is not an ordinary situation. I don't like it, either, but we don't seem to have much choice."

Zach was staring at Gervaise and Cecia, an obstinate expression on his face. "How old are you?" he asked them.

Cecia looked at him with a level of self possession Goose couldn't help finding unnerving. "We're part of the same cohort," she said. "We have the same incept and decant dates. We are both six years, three months, and twelve days old, and we are soldiers."

"Moira's older than you," Zach persisted. "Why isn't she—"

"Because she doesn't have psychokinesis," Cecia said. "I do. My skills may be needed to assist with microrepairs to the computer. Her role is too important for her to leave the ship. If Ranger Hartford doesn't need my help, I won't be leaving, either."

Zachary didn't look much mollified.

"We think Talisa has a good chance of linking with the war being, or at least backing up Ranger Niko in trying to do it," Winter said. "Gervaise is—artillery. And John will be standing between the Scarecrow and Ranger Niko and me while the rest of you fight."

Whoa, wait a minute, full stop— "Hold it," cut in Goose. "You're talking about sending a kid up against the Scarecrow physically? None of you have the strength for that. Zach and I barely do."

"John has a talent no one's been completely able to quantify," Winter said. "He's lucky."

Oh, right. Goose managed not to roll his eyes, but he knew he looked skeptical.

"I'll show you," John said, dug a coin out of his pocket, and held it out to Goose. Goose took it warily and glanced at it. It was an old-style gold-colored dollar coin from the United States. He raised his eyes back to John.

"Toss," said John.

The coin spun upward. John wasn't watching it; his eyes seemed turned inward. As Goose's hand began the motion to catch the coin, John said, "Heads!"

Goose smacked the coin down on the back of his glove, then lifted his hand to look at the result. Everyone leaned forward to see as Goose, picking up the coin, turned a look on John which he hoped was unreadable.

"It's accurate a little over eighty percent of the time," the boy said.

Goose, still looking at him, said, "Eight for ten. Two still gets you dead twice. What is it?"

John shrugged. "Nobody's sure," he said, not looking as though the thought bothered him much. "Something to do with precog, but it only happens when there's something at stake. They hooked me up in the lab and got nothing."

Goose's face twitched before he could stop it.

"What is it, Shane?" Niko leaned forward in concern.

"Do you remember what Gaea said, Niko? She used to have clairvoyant dreams—"

She caught her breath. "But they tried testing her and—got nothing."

Goose stared at John.

With a faint smile, the tall boy said, "Yes. They based my genome on Gaea's. They didn't give her precog, and they didn't give me the ability to manipulate energy. But in most other respects we're more closely related than almost anyone else in the project. "

"Look, this is all nice with the old home week and everything," interrupted Doc, "but we've got a fight to plan. So four of you kids are going to be there when we go up against the Scarecrow. Two of you are sitting tight on _Ranger One_. Have I got that straight?"

"Yes," Winter said just as Niko said, "Yes, Doc, although only three of them are going to be with us as we try to get into the complex." The two psychics eyed each other and Niko smiled a little.

"Why are you going?" Zach demanded of Winter. "You're not the one linking your group to Niko."

"I have a talent similar to Talisa's, but much weaker," answered Winter. "We hope to combine everyone's gifts synergistically. That is why we were designed, after all."

Zach sighed. "I don't like it."

"Yeah, that was clear, my Captain."

"It seems I'm being overruled." Zach's mouth quirked in a small, bitter smile.

"What is it, Zachary?" asked Niko.

"I was just thinking—that the galaxy will never know what hit it."

There was quiet in the Nav Bay for a moment.

"Irving to Foxx, come in."

Zach triggered his wrist comm and spoke as the screen popped up. "Foxx here, Commander. What can I do for you?"

"I just got word from the flight leaders. The fighters have cleared out the last of the rebels. We're mobilizing the evacuation as we speak."

Zach stood. "Understood. Thank you, Commander. Good luck and Godspeed."

"The same to you. Irving out."

"All right, everyone, we're moving out," announced Zach, and he turned to Winter as the Rangers all stood up. "Do you need anything from your ship?"

"No," she answered. "We have what we need. Moira, send the word."

Goose glanced over at the serious girl and saw her cock her head slightly.

"Where would you like us to sit, Captain?" asked Winter.

"Stay put here. There are four seats here and an emergency jump seat at the back of the cabin there," and Zach pointed. "One of you can use the jump seat at the back of the cockpit if you're quiet."

Winter's eyes flickered to John. The younger children were already strapping themselves into seats as the boy turned to follow at Niko's elbow as she stepped through the hatch into the corridor. He caught Goose's eyes on him and smiled again.

"Winter's better at calming Gervaise," John explained. The hatch slid closed behind them; ahead, Zach was already into the cockpit. "He's apt to be nervous. All the firestarters are. They haven't been able to pinpoint why."

"Well, there's a recipe for trouble," Doc cracked. "Kid gets jumpy and _foosh_!"

"It's been known to happen," answered John phlegmatically. "But Winter is very good at helping him keep control. I'm almost certain he won't set your Navigation Bay on fire."

" _What_?!" demanded Doc, and then "Ow!" as, turning to stare at John, he smacked his head into the hatch that had just cycled closed in front of him. Goose couldn't hold back a snicker. The hatch opened again and Niko tipped her head into the corridor.

"Are you opening doors with your head again, Doc?" she teased.

"I do it all the time and no one complains." Doc walked past her, and she moved to her station at the sensors. Goose pointed John to the jump seat. The boy pulled the seat down and settled in, belting himself in with the absentminded ease of long practice. Through the viewport Goose noted that the courier ship was on its way out of the hangar. He wondered if the pilot was going to help with the airlift efforts, or if he was headed back to Earth. Hey, kid, he thought at John, your ride's leaving. Niko made a noise like a stifled sneeze. 

"With your skull, then?" she teased Doc after a moment.

"Oh, well, that's totally different."

"Doc, take the controls," Zach ordered. "GV says there's a bad storm coming up over the mesa where we're headed. We're going to have to ride in for the last several miles. Goose, I want you to go and start prepping the horses. We're going to have to stop at the spaceport before we go, though. Commander Irving says the governor is giving the PKF airlift pilots a hard time. He thinks the man will straighten out if he's got someone in authority right there."

"Right, Captain." Goose tossed off a salute and turned to go. "Hey, kid, you want to help with this?" he said over his shoulder to John. The boy looked up at him.

"Winter asked me to stay here to pass messages," John answered. "Talisa or Cecia would be able to help you, though."

"Right. I'm outta here, and I'm picking me up a redhead on my way down."

A stylus sailed at him from Niko's direction.

"Cradle robber," Doc sniffed. "Okay, GV, I've got the helm."

The hatch cycled closed on the sound of their preparations.


	6. Chapter 5

_The first sight of the rubble in front of the doors brought a scream of rage, but the Scarecrow wasted no further time on useless display. It began single-mindedly to move the tons of rock from its path._

_As it cleared the stone away from the doors, a great stone seal was revealed. Hideous laughter echoed from the cliff face._

 

 

 

 

Walsh's office, BETA Mountain

2449

 

 

Walsh stood in front of his desk, kitted out in full dress and looking at a comm screen on which the entire Board of World Leaders looked back, and thought that if he got through the next twenty-four hours without any new white hairs, he'd count it a miracle. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"Thank you, Senators, for assembling at such short notice. I regret that urgent duties here at BETA Mountain prevent me from appearing before you in person. No disrespect is intended.

"As your briefing packet has informed you, BETA has become aware of a secret or so-called 'black ops' program called the Skollii Project, funded and controlled directly by the Office of Planetary Security. The existence of this program directly contravenes four separate clauses of the treaty this government signed when Earth joined the League of Planets in 2087. In short, the project has been designing and producing genetically engineered supersoldiers since 2080, when they produced a prototype. They began full-scale production in the middle of 2088. This puts the eldest of the production-stage subjects at eleven years of age."

Walsh paused to let the tide of whispers swell and then ebb again.

"I don't need to explain to any of you the potential consequences for Earth specifically, or for the League of Planets in general, of this highly illegal program. If we as a species are to withstand external threats, most especially the threat posed by the Crown Empire, it is _absolutely essential_ that the League of Planets stand united and strong. And that requires our allies in the League be able to trust us."

The whispers took longer to quiet this time.

"Ambassadors Waldo Zeptic of Andor and Zozo of Kirwin have assured me that, provided the Board is able to demonstrate that the guilty parties are being found and prosecuted, it is highly unlikely that their governments will consider that Earth has abrogated the Articles of Confederation. Further, while Andor and Kirwin recognize that the final decision regarding the fate of these supersoldiers rests with this Board, the Ambassadors have asked me to pass on their strong hope that you will agree to grant these children immunity from punishment or prosecution."

Not that there's any way in hell I'd have addressed the entire Board without getting a supermajority to agree to that condition in advance.

"Senators, I'm now asking each one of you to come forward with any information you may have regarding the supersoldier program, or any of OPS' activities that may violate Earth law or interplanetary treaty. The people responsible for this outrage must be held accountable."

He let them chew on that for a while.

"Thank you for your attention. If any of you have questions—? Yes, Senator Adeshina?"

 

 

 

Brimstone Spaceport

6/26/2099, 1106 local time

 

 

_Ranger One_ settled to the tarmac. Zachary was riding the lift down before the dust had even settled. A woman in a spaceport uniform approached.

"Captain Foxx? I'm Bryn Mehta, the portmaster," she said, and extended her hand. "You said you were here to talk to the governor. He got himself flown out here when Commander Irving called him, and now he's in everyone's hair and he's making the pilots' lives more difficult."

"How do you do, ma'am? Lead the way."

As they walked, Mehta filled Zachary in on the situation at the spaceport. "I'm grateful the PKF was finally allowed to come in here and clear out those rebels," she declared, "but I'm not happy that it took a major disaster for that to happen."

"How much has Commander Irving told you about the current situation?"

"The fundamentals. He said you're evacuating people from a hundred-mile radius of the epicenter. We've been feeling the stronger quakes even here, though only as minor temblors."

"We heard there'd been more earthquakes," Zachary noted. "Have you had any reports of fatalities?"

"A few. We enforce the building codes here, so in general people's homes have stayed standing. It helps that the settlers voted not to build more than two stories high to reduce their dependence on technology. Things out at Perdition Mesa don't seem so good, though. We've got a weird storm building. Our weather guys say it's fairly localized—not completely, I mean, but not as widespread as you'd expect from a storm that bad."

"Well, we're heading out there from here," Zach told her. "We've got to investigate what's happened to the archaeological expedition. Oh, yes," he said to her startled look, "there are people still there. It's a classified matter, which is why no one here was allowed to know."

Her face grew sour. "Great," she said flatly.

Zach chuckled and opened the door to the port offices for her.

"Thank you, Captain. It's just through here. He's taken over my office."

Francis Norris looked up from a handheld as Mehta shoved the door open. "What did I tell you about closing my door, Governor?" she demanded. He scowled, and she continued, "This is Galaxy Ranger Captain Zachary Foxx. He's got some things to say to you." She folded her arms and leaned against the wall. By her expression, Zach could tell that she was looking forward to seeing the governor overruled.

"Governor Norris," Zach said.

Francis Norris eyed him. "Captain Foxx," he answered in a nasal voice. "You wanted to see me." And you're wasting my time, his expression clearly added.

Zachary smiled. He admitted to himself that it wasn't a very nice smile. "Yes, sir," he said. "I'll make this brief. By the authority vested in me by the League of Planets, I hereby declare Brimstone a disaster zone." The governor's jaw dropped; then he sputtered, his face going red. Zach continued speaking over the other man's voice.

"Ships from BETA are on their way. Until they get here, Commander Irving of the PKF will be coordinating evacuation efforts. We've got to get your people out of the quake zone."

"Brimstone is an independent world! You can't—"

"Yes," Zach said. "I can. As a member of the League of Planets, Brimstone signed the Articles, and you're bound by them according to law."

"But—"

"Mister," said Zachary coldly, "I am the law here." He stared the governor down until the man shut up and then turned to Mehta.

"Portmaster, I'll need to record an address to the population to announce the state of emergency. Would you please have your tech people make the arrangements?"

"I'll be glad to," she said, and left the office at speed.

Zach eyed the governor, silently steaming with resentment behind the portmaster's desk. "I'll be glad of any help you can lend to Commander Irving," he said. "It's very important that we present a united front to the people of Brimstone. No one wants a panic."

Norris' face thawed a little. "No," he said stiffly. "Of course I'll do what I can."

Bryn Mehta appeared in the doorway. "Captain Foxx?" she said. "We're ready for you. If you'll just step this way..."

 

Zach stood with Mehta and Norris in the port control center. A pair of technicians were just finishing the preparations for recording the announcements. One of them gave Zach a silent thumbs up.

"Thank you," Zach said. "Please sound off the emergency sirens—you have the usual evacuation protocols in place?" he added, looking at the governor. At the man's assent, he continued, "Set off the emergency comm notification system with the following announcement, and break into all broadcasts in progress."

Zach paused for a moment to let the techs begin recording and then continued. "This is Galaxy Ranger Captain Zachary Foxx. Because of the earthquakes taking place in the Perdition Mountains, we're evacuating all settlers living within a hundred miles of the epicenter. Settlers living farther than a hundred miles away should stand by for further instructions from your government. Take only what you can carry in your hands or on your back, with priority given to medicine and supplies needed for children, the sick, and the elderly. Pets and service animals may come with you, but livestock must be left behind. Bring an inventory of your property with you if you've got one.

"Go in an orderly fashion to your local designated emergency evacuation assembly point. No pickups will be made at assembly points outside the hundred-mile radius until all settlers within the radius have been evacuated. Anyone taking a vehicle to any assembly point must fill every seat with passengers, with priority given to children, the elderly, and the mobility-impaired.

"If someone in your household is not able to get to the assembly point, set off your comm system's emergency beacon and wait for instructions. If your comm system is down and you're hearing this on an emergency radio, fire off an emergency flare." Zach paused for a moment. "You have ten minutes to get ready," he finished. "Go calmly, and everything will be all right. Zachary Foxx out."

"We've got it, Captain," one of the techs announced.

"Good. Thank you. Ma'am," said Zach, holding out his hand to Mehta, "thank you for your help. I'm taking my team out to the mesa now."

She shook hands. "Thank you, Captain, and good luck."

"Captain—" Governor Norris said. "Thank you for taking care of my people."

"That's what we're here for, sir... That's what we're here for."

 

 

 

Commander Walsh's office, BETA Mountain

6/27/2099, 0118

 

 

"Commander, Dr. Nagata and I have been working on a solution to the problem of the war being," said Q-Ball. "You may recall that the Heart of Tarkon closed it down by using the moon fortresses to fire at it. It's possible that an orbital strike by a ship's weapons might do something similar."

"An _orbital_ strike?" said Walsh after a moment of appalled silence. "You’re suggesting that I order a League ship to fire on a League world?"

"Yes, sir," Q-Ball said. "That's all we were able to come up with. The only other way is if the Series Five team gets control of the thing and shuts it down."

"It's better than the alternative, old friend," Nagata pointed out.

Walsh pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "Right," he said wearily. "I'll get in touch with Commander Irving."

 

 

 

Perdition Mountains

1132 local time

 

 

The dig site was located at Perdition Mesa, high on a scrub-covered plateau in the Perdition Mountains. The miners who had settled there in pursuit of gold, gems, and starstones had found the ruins before the Diego Jihad began, but exploration and excavation had barely gotten started when the first bombings took place. Those settlers and scientists not killed in the first wave of attacks all fled when the fighting started in earnest. Few made it off the planet's surface before the insurgents took the spaceport nearest the mesa and started shooting down rescue teams. 

After the second attempt at evacuation led to the destruction of a number of rescue ships, the League government had declared the no-fly zone and set up PKF patrols to enforce it.

_Ranger One_ screamed across the sky. Doc touched the controls and coaxed a little more speed out of the ship. The weather had been growing slowly worse as they approached their target zone, the controls bucking and shuddering under his hands. Ahead of them, Doc could see lowering storm clouds centered around the mesa.

"Picking up another aftershock," Niko said calmly. "Estimated magnitude of 3.9."

"Acknowledged," said Zach. "Doc, wind speed is picking up. I'm showing some random gusts, so be prepared to correct. There's a mass of heated air coming up off that mesa."

"And it's playing merry hell with the cloud cover," Goose added. "Looks like thunderstorms building. The radio chatter from the airlift teams says some of the pilots are having trouble making their landing zones."

Doc grimaced. "Oh, happiness."

"Captain," GV announced, "we're receiving a transmission from the _Aegis_." Commander Irving's face resolved on the comm screen.

"I just heard from Commander Walsh," Irving said with no preamble. "BETA's science people have suggested that an orbital strike against the war being might have the same effect as the blast from Tarkon's moon fortresses."

Doc realized his mouth was hanging open, and shut it.

" _What_?!" Niko nearly shouted. "That's an archaeological site!"

"It won't be anything if we mess this up," Doc said under his breath.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Zachary, ignoring the background chatter.

"I'm not," Irving answered. "We'll be firing in about ten minutes. What is your ETA at Perdition Mesa?"

"Longer than that," Zach said. "We're riding in the last several miles."

"All right. We'll give you the warning before we fire. Irving out."

In the ensuing silence, Doc glanced over at Zach. "That is crazy," he said.

"That is _ridiculous_ ," Niko fumed. "I can't believe this. That site is irreplaceable."

Zach sighed. "Doc's right. We have to try something. The war being and Scarecrow would wreck the place anyway."

Niko muttered, "I still hate it."

"Go right ahead," Zach said. Then, after a pause: "Think it'll work?"

Unable to resist the opening, Doc said, "It'd take a miracle."

Somehow he wasn't surprised when John chuckled.

 

They were nearly at the landing zone when the clouds finally let loose with a tremendous crash of lightning.

"Great," said Doc gloomily, staring at the rain as it pelted down against the viewport. Faintly he felt the vibration of the thunder as it traveled through the hull to the controls in his hands. "I hate piloting in rainstorms. And I hate being out in them even more."

"That's the least of our worries," Zach answered crisply. "Target site just ahead. From here on out, we ride."

"I see it." Doc angled the ship downward. "This wind shear is murder. Thank goodness for VTOL. I can't imagine trying to fly much farther through this wind, and sensors say it's actually worse over the mesa."

 

 

Niko settled John in front of her on Mel's back.

:Hold on tight, now,: Niko said. :Cecia, are you sure you aren't going to come with us?:

From the cockpit of Ranger One, the small girl answered, :I haven't changed my mind. Since you're having to ride in, I wouldn't be able to retreat to the ship if necessary, and you've only got four horses, anyway. Moira will be glad of the backup. Talisa will probably be able to do any needed repairs. We'll be fine here.:

Niko glanced around. Winter was already settled firmly on Triton's back. Talisa was riding with Doc on Voyager. Zach on Brutus had his right arm snugly around Gervaise's shoulders.

"It's time to set up the link," Niko said. "Winter?"

From the outside Niko could sense the connection between the Skollii snapping into place.

"All right," said Winter. "Ranger Niko, whenever you're ready."

"Gather around, everyone," Niko said. "Hold out your hands, all touching." She laid one hand on the other Rangers' and touched her badge. To Goose, she whispered, :This won't be a pairbond, just a surface link.: To the others, she said, "Relax and quiet your mind. Good. Now I'm going to connect us together. We'll be connecting only at the level of surface thoughts so that I and the Skollii can more effectively defend you against the Scarecrow."

:Can everyone hear me?:

Zach jumped. "That's... odd," he complained. Niko smiled.

:All right?: she asked.

:Uh... yeah?: answered Doc.

:Yeah,: said Goose.

:Yes,: Zach said. Then aloud, "Everyone settled? Then let's move out."

The ride was brutal. They were all soaked through within minutes. The wind hurled the rain in their faces and tore at hats, hair, and clothing. Lightning flared ahead, and the thunder rolled back toward them from the mesa. Niko, still not really rested after her experience on the _Resolute_ , was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a good seat as Mel ran over the sandy, shale-covered ground. Grimly she hung on.

:Lean on me, Ranger Niko,: said John, and she felt him lending her strength. The ride got a little easier for a while.

The earth trembled under the cybersteeds' hooves as another aftershock struck.

:Sensors say that had a magnitude of 3.1,: Cecia said.

:Roger,: Zach answered after an awkward pause. :Is there any sign that the weather system is letting up?:

There was a brief pause; everyone "heard" Cecia querying GV. :No, not yet,: she answered. :I'll keep you informed.:

:Good,: Zach said, and then, reflexively, :Foxx out.:

The telepaths' amusement rippled through the link. Zachary harrumphed, embarrassed.

:This is useful, but it's strange,: Doc remarked.

Zach answered, :It is strange, but it's saving us time and giving us the tactical advantage.: He tried not to send the thought, but everyone heard it anyway: But I'm still not all that happy about it.

They kept going through the driving rain.

 

 

 

Enroute to Perdition Mesa

1142 local time

 

 

"Irving to Foxx. Come in, please."

Zach keyed his wrist comm, vainly trying to wipe the water out of his eyes. "Foxx here," he said.

"We're preparing to fire," Irving said. Zach had to strain to hear the man over the downpour. "Final countdown commencing. One minute—mark."

"Acknowledged. We'll stand by."

Irving closed the connection. Zach pulled Brutus up and raised an arm to signal a halt. "They're about to fire," he called. "So we're staying put. Fifty seconds—mark."

Niko brought Mel alongside Brutus. "I wish we weren't doing this," she said.

"I know," Zachary replied. "It's a pity about the site."

She frowned.

"What is it?"

"There's something..." she said slowly. "I'm—not sure what it is."

"Thirty seconds," said Goose.

Doc asked, "What kind of something, Niko?"

She was still frowning.

"Twenty seconds," Goose said.

"It's—" Her eyes went wide; so did John's. She craned her neck to look into the boy's face. "Do you feel—" she began, and then the two shouted at the same moment.

"NO!" 

The other Skollii, connected to them both through the link, all cried out in shock. In a corner of his mind Zach heard their silent voices, with Moira's as a strong undercurrent, like a mental carrier wave.

"Zach!" Niko cried. "They have to stop!"

Zach was keying his wrist comm when Goose said, "Ten seconds. They've already started the firing sequence, Niko."

"Foxx to _Aegis_. Come in!"

"Five!" snapped Goose. "Too late."

John grabbed hold of Niko's arm where it was wrapped around him and rolled them both off Mel's back. Goose, reacting with his enhanced reflexes, curled around Winter and hit the dirt. Talisa dragged Doc down. But Gervaise was too small to shift Zach with the weight of his bionic limbs. The boy cried out and slithered to the ground while Zach was still gathering himself to move.

About a mile away, a beam of blue light punched through the cloud cover and struck the surface of the mesa, and then many things happened at once:

A violent tremor rocked the ground.

Triton, his reactions faster because of his racing specs, braced his legs and kept to his feet. Mel, older and slower, stumbled and fell heavily—in the opposite direction from the one John had taken himself and Niko. Voyager slid over the shale, yelping in confusion, but managed to stay upright. Brutus staggered under Zach, skidding as he tried to keep his legs under him. But his left foreleg lost purchase at last, and the cybersteed crashed to the earth.

Zach kicked free and managed to stay out from under his horse—except for his left foot.

From the surface of the mesa, the beam was reflected back up into space. In the daytime sky, a burst of light glowed white-hot through the cloud cover.

Niko screamed.


	7. Chapter 6

_After three powerful blows of a sledgehammer, the seal cracked and fell in shards to the rock at the Scarecrow's feet. With a howl of laughter it tossed the hammer aside and was reaching for the door when it heard the sound of approaching hoofbeats._

 

 

 

 

Perdition Mountains, Brimstone

1143 local time

 

 

Goose heaved, and Brutus managed to get his legs under him and stand. "Captain, are you all right?" asked the cybersteed, his voice full of distress. Zach gingerly rotated his foot. Nothing seemed to be damaged, so he clambered to his feet, slapped his horse's side, and mounted. Goose handed Gervaise up to him and swung back into Triton's saddle behind Winter.

"I'm fine, Brutus," Zach answered. "Takes more than that to take the fight out of me. My uniform will never be the same, though." In fact, Zachary saw, everyone was splattered with dirt and grit; as he looked around, Niko wiped the worst of it off her face and impatiently shoved her dripping bangs aside. "Let's get going," he added. "We've still got almost a mile to go and the horses can't go all out in this footing."

"We have to hurry, Zach," Niko said urgently. "The Scarecrow is about to break into the cavern."

"Right," Zachary said, and swept his arm down to move the group out. He leaned forward to shield Gervaise from the cold and felt the hint of a cold breeze on his cheek.

:Captain Foxx,: said Cecia, :sensors are picking up a drop in the air temperature over the mesa. It's as if something that was venting heat has... stopped.:

:The war being?: Niko said. :But—why would it stop venting heat _now_?:

:Maybe its wake cycle requires rapid heating,: speculated John.

Goose snorted. :Well, when we get there, why don't we ask it?:

:Any word from the airlift pilots?: Zach asked Cecia. :Did any of them get caught up in that?:

There was a long pause and then the girl said quietly, :Only one. A packet boat that was picking up two families in a mining camp—didn't make it. All lost.: Her sadness resonated through the linkweb, and Zachary felt the other Skollii silently offering comfort.

As the party drew closer to the base of the mesa, Doc pulled Voyager alongside Brutus. "Hey, Captain, hold up." Zach pulled his horse to a halt. Doc held out his field glasses and continued, "Take a look. You see what I'm seeing?"

Zach lifted the glasses to his eyes and studied the scenery ahead. Through the rain he could just make out shapes huddled on the ground. "Looks like it," he agreed, his voice grim. "I doubt there's anyone left alive up there. We've seen it before. The Scarecrow drains anyone he can get his hands on."

Doc accepted the field glasses back and scowled. Zach shook the reins and said, "Come on. We have to keep moving if we're going to get there in time."

 

 

 

Commander Walsh's office, BETA Mountain

0143

 

 

"Damage report coming in now, Commander."

"Put it through on my screen, Sheela."

The bridge of the _Aegis_ was lit red by emergency lighting. Through a haze of smoke Walsh could see figures moving about: putting out fires, giving emergency medical care, doing frantic repairs on shipboard systems. A medic was leaning over Commander Irving, carefully bandaging a burn on the man's face.

"Commander Irving," Walsh said. "We've scrambled the closest Space Navy vessel. The _Laredo_ 's ETA is 0230. Do you have enough life support to hold for that long?"

"Commander Walsh." Irving turned slightly toward the comm pickups, but stopped moving again at a rebuke from the medic. "Yes. We're holed, but the emergency bulkheads came down in time. Main Engineering is gone, but the auxiliary is operable. Fire Control took heavy damage. The section isn't open to space, but my damage control people are reporting multiple fires, total loss of power, and heavy casualties. We may have to vent the air from that section to save the rest of Three Deck."

Something came through on the earbug Walsh could see in Irving's ear; the PKF commander went very still and then closed his eyes. "We've lost our portside fighter hangar," he told Walsh, looking back toward the comm pickup. "Heavy loss of personnel. Thank god not all of them were back from clearing out the rebels. Early casualty reports say we've lost about 120 people shipwide, but that number will almost certainly go up."

"Understood, Commander. Call me if you need me. Walsh out."

Q-Ball stood pale and wretched next to Walsh. "I blame myself, Commander," he said, his reedy voice low.

"You had no way of knowing this would happen, Doctor," Walsh replied, knowing how little help his words would be but having no greater comfort to offer.

"Maybe not," said Q-Ball, "but those people are all still dead."

 

 

 

Perdition Mesa

6/27/2099, 1146 local time

 

 

The earth shook again. The rain slackened slightly as they came up on the dig site. The members of the expedition lay sprawled where they had fallen like so much forgotten laundry. Zach gritted his teeth at the sight: more innocent lives lost. Grid markers blinked silent green eyes in the hardscrabble dirt. He could just make out through the rain a great door like the one that led into the Heart of Tarkon, though this site had no obelisk, only a ragged tunnel half filled with rubble and flooded by the recent rains. Scaffolding stood half collapsed against the face of the cliff.

A figure showing dark in front of the pale stone was swinging something against the door of the cavern. Faintly above the wind came the sound of cracking stone.

From just ahead he heard familiar, awful laughter.

"He's broken the seal!" Niko shouted. "We've got to get in there!"

The horses slid to a stop. As Zach's team drew their guns, the Skollii sprang down from the horses as though they'd practiced and fanned out. The Scarecrow turned to face them all.

"So," it hissed.

"Niko—" Zach started to say and then grimaced; what was the point of silent comms if you didn't use them? :Niko, you and Doc hang back with Winter and John. Goose and I will have to work on getting the Scarecrow away from the cavern.:

:We've got to hurry, Zach,: Niko told him. :The war being is awake.:

As though the thing had heard her, there was a rumble from overhead. The mesa trembled. A boulder crashed to the ground somewhere nearby.

Goose dived and rolled off Triton's back and came up firing. The blaster bolts struck the Scarecrow to no apparent effect. Winter did a fast fade, circling behind Triton to work her way over to Niko.

Then Gervaise spoke for the first time. :Let me try,: he said. He fixed his eyes on the creature, and his brow furrowed in concentration. Zach drew in a hasty breath to protest, every parental instinct in revolt at the sight of a child anywhere near danger.  

Flame erupted from the Scarecrow's ragged clothing, even as soaked as it was. The thing screamed in rage, turned, and dived into the collapsed, flooded tunnel. Everything went still for a moment.

They said he was a firestarter, Zach thought in shock, but that's—unnerving.

He stared at the pool. Ripples chased themselves back and forth: the driving rain, the shaking ground, the unearthly, horrible monster beneath that muddy surface...

From the corner of his eye, the captain saw Niko slide to the ground, using Mel's blocky side as cover. To her left he sensed Doc doing the same.

"Did we—" Zach began, and then the Scarecrow erupted from the water. Leaping to the mouth of the tunnel, it raised its arms and wreathed them in energy. Winter cried out and began to lift a telekinetic shield, but she moved too slowly, and Gervaise died where he stood in a halo of blue lightning.

" _Gervaise_!" shrieked Winter as the small boy fell, and linked as they all were, Zach felt the surge of the children's grief as if it were his own.

Rage gripped him. You are _done_ , he thought furiously, and he swung down from the saddle and stepped forward. The mud sucked at his boots as he set his feet in firing stance and tapped his badge.

Little Zach had once asked him what it felt like to fire the thunderbolt. "Can you feel the buildup, Dad?" he'd wondered.

Zachary had shaken his head with a smile, but the truth was, sometimes he thought he almost could, like a phantom limb that buzzed and sparked and tickled up and down his arm. Which was nonsense, surely, as Q-Ball was fond of insisting; the bionics were supposed to mimic natural sensation in every respect.

At the moment, unnatural was the best thing Zach could imagine.

He let the charge build into the red, past the point where he should have released. Farther, and farther, and one more deep breath—and with a dull boom the thunderbolt sizzled through the rain and slammed into the monster. 

It checked for a moment but then laughed. And then Talisa struck.

Zach drew in a breath, for the girl had slashed the Scarecrow's clothing to ribbons almost before it could turn to face her. She uses her powers like a knife, he realized. A slash opened across the thing's face, then another across its chest before it lunged forward and backhanded her across the face. 

Talisa, totally focused on her psychokinetic strikes, fell silently. Goose was just stepping forward when the Scarecrow lifted Talisa by the throat and crushed her windpipe with a brutal hand.

 

 

Centered in the linkweb, Niko felt the girl die. She cried out, doubling over for a moment with the shock. Winter, standing next to her, sagged against Mel's side. From the bridge of _Ranger One_ came the sound of Cecia and Moira screaming for an instant before the link with the Skollii went dead.

:Winter?:

There was no answer.

:Stay with me, Niko—: whispered Goose. He leaped free of the ground and launched a kick at the creature, and the thing staggered and then whirled to engage him.

"You!" it spat, raising clenched fists.

"Me," Goose agreed. They exchanged a flurry of blows, Goose constantly maneuvering to draw the thing slowly farther and farther from the doors into the cavern. It resisted being drawn, however, moving back into Goose's space to push him closer to the mesa.

The Scarecrow laughed horribly, madly. "You think you can defeat me?" it howled. "I am the ravager of worlds!"

"You are a monumental pain in the ass," Goose snarled.

They circled each other, each looking for the advantage as the wind rose again to throw the rain in their faces.

:Niko!: Winter cried, and she grabbed Niko's hand and reformed the link. Only two of the children's minds connected with Niko's, and she darted a glance at the girl.

:Moira?:

:She went into shock. Cardiac arrest. Cecia's trying to restart her heart. We’re on our own.:

Gods, Niko thought in horror. How many of these children are going to die here?

Through the rain she saw Zach tap his badge again and yank a five-foot length of pipe free of the scaffolding against the cliff face. In one swift, sure motion, he struck the creature on the side of the head, knocking it several feet from the cavern door. It howled as it fell. Goose was on it in a moment, delivering a series of punches to its face. It bellowed with rage and caught his arm, and Niko's breath caught. The two struggled, the Scarecrow dragging Goose to one knee. Goose planted his foot on the ground and heaved against his opponent's hands to no avail. It let go his arm with one hand, grabbed his throat, and began to squeeze.

Terror and rage surged within her. :Goose!: she cried, and she couldn't hold back from striking at the monster's face with her telekinesis. Its head snapped back, but its grip failed to slacken.

"Niko, focus!" barked Zach, gripping the pipe, circling, looking for an opening that would let him avoid hitting Goose. :That's not your mission,: he added. :Get in there!:

Control returned, and with it embarrassment at her loss of concentration, but with the discipline of years Niko forced her thoughts to center. Winter squeezed her hand and then they were running through the gravelly mud, Niko and Doc keeping Winter between them, their feet sliding in the muck. The horses moved to interpose themselves between them and the Scarecrow. Through their link Niko felt Goose gather himself. His right arm was still caught in the ancient creature's grip, but he reached up and tapped his badge—and caught fire.

A flurry of motion passed Niko by, and John leapt free of the ground and slammed his boot into the Scarecrow's head. Over Goose's hunched body she saw the thing loose its grip on her teammate to strike at John; saw the tall boy begin to dodge even before the creature raised its arm. He maneuvered desperately, hampered by the need to keep his body between the Scarecrow and Niko's group.

He's so fast, she thought in amazement, and remembered Goose's fight against Gaea on a rooftop in Mars City. 

:John, get back!: ordered Goose, falling back himself and releasing his transformation. :Concentrate on getting Niko, Doc, and Winter through those doors. We've got to try to get control of the war being.:

The boy obeyed, moving sideways to keep shielding his half of the party. Doc reached the doors and snatched his CDU off his belt.

"Okay, guys," he said quietly, hitting his badge and leaning forward to keep the rain out of the ports. "Time to do your stuff." The holofield formed up, and Firefly streaked out of it. "Get in there and make this door open."

"Right, boss!" squeaked the little program, and it popped through the door. Through the link, Niko felt for the first time what Doc felt when he used his programs, and her eyes widened in wonder.

:What is that, Ranger Niko?: Winter whispered privately to her.

:Doc's using his Series Five implant and his CDU to interface with the door circuits and get the door open.:

"You cannot enter the cavern!" shouted the Scarecrow. It raised its arms to strike at Doc, but John was already moving. He took two steps forward and clenched his fists, and through the link Niko felt him lashing out with his psychokinesis. The power slammed into the Scarecrow and flung the thing, snarling in rage, several feet away. It landed hard on its back and immediately climbed to its feet, but Goose and Zach had closed ranks to keep it away from the door. John backed up toward Niko's group, keeping his eyes on the Scarecrow.

Firefly popped out of the surface again, and the door rumbled open in fits and starts. It jammed entirely about halfway along the track.

"Sorry, Doc!" Firefly piped. "That's the best I can do."

"No, hey, it's great," Doc said hurriedly, and he flicked on his flashlight and ducked inside. Niko and Winter followed close on his heels. John came through the doorway but then took two steps to the left and stopped, ready to defend the others.

Behind them, Niko heard the Scarecrow scream, "I will not be denied!" A flash of blue light lit up the cliff face, and she heard Goose cry out in pain. Then Zach's voice rose in a shout, and there was a terrific clang and a thump and the Scarecrow howling in fury. A second, softer thump sounded moments later. Goose whooped weakly.

:Shane!:

:...yeah,: he answered, and she heard the shakiness in his voice. :I'm okay.:

:What was that?:

The thread of a laugh wove through his mind. :Zach hit a 'crow home run, knocked that ugly-ass thing fifty feet. That pipe's batted its last, though. What's Doc doing?:

She turned. The hacker stood, CDU in hand, before an interface screen exactly like the one on the Heart of Tarkon.

:What Doc does best.:

 

 

There was, miracle of miracles, a sensor device in the niche above the interface screen. Doc snatched it out and fitted it over his head. Tipping back his head, he gazed into the computer's heart.

Everywhere he looked was devastation. Dead linkages branched out around him. Farther in and farther in and the result was always the same.

Then dimly in the farthest depths of the computer: a flutter of life.

"Lifeline, get in there and see if there's anything left to save. Firefly, reconnect whatever you can to get power to the interface. We don't have to make the thing live forever, just for the next five minutes. Pathfinder, see if you can find anything in there to talk to."

The programs went spinning away. Doc waited as the milliseconds ticked by.

"Boss, there's not enough juice to power the screen," Firefly reported. "You'll have to talk to it direct."

"Got it. Pathfinder?"

"It's awful weak, Doc. Lifeline says it's gonna die real soon."

"Yeah," Lifeline affirmed. "Even if we leave it alone, it won't last another month."

"It wants to talk to you," Pathfinder said. "Startalker says it doesn't speak your lingo, though, so he's gotta translate."

"Right. —Hello?" Doc said into the silence of the ancient, moribund computer.

"You are too late," it whispered tiredly, sadly. "I see in your mind that you come here to help, not to harm, but you are too late. I tried to call upon the fortresses to send the Sleeper back to its rest, but they did not answer. Then I tried to speak to the Sleeper itself, but my voice was too weak. The Sleeper will wake and rise to become a Walker, and death will follow it. You are too late. I have failed. I cannot help you. I am sorry."

Doc sighed. "It's all right," he said. "Our telepaths are supposed to be able to connect to it."

"Ah," it breathed. "Walkers-of-the-spirit. That is good. Who are you?"

"I'm called Walter Hartford. I’m a Galaxy Ranger. A peacekeeper. I talk to computers. What are you called?"

"I am the Heart of Alkor, and I am very tired."

"Can you tell me about the Sleeper?"

Doc felt the data stream slip by into his CDU, protocols and passcodes and recognition signals. "Good," he told the computer. "Thank you. You held on for a long time alone. It's okay to let go. Rest now."

He felt it withdrawing and recalled his programs with a thought. And then he watched the lights going out, one by one by one.

 

 

It seemed to Niko that it had been only a few seconds since Doc slipped this world's answer to the All-Seeing Eye on his head. He stepped back, pulled the thing off, and turned to face her, and she sensed his sadness clearly.

"It's no use," he said quietly. "The computer's almost dead. Our only chance is for you folks to connect with the war being."

"Then we've got to get back outside," answered Winter. "This cavern could collapse before we can get the war being under control." She took Niko's hand as she turned away. Niko looked back at her teammate with compassion.

"I'm sorry, Doc."

"Yeah, I know. Lousy world sometimes. All it wanted to do was help, but it was alone for too long. Now let's go tell the guy upstairs to hit the snooze button."

"Any idea of how we're go—?"

The mesa shook.

:Get outta there!: Goose shouted over the group link. :A big red hand just stuck itself out the top of the mesa. The whole thing's about to come down.:

:Scarecrow?:

:Zach's duking it out with it, with another hunk of pipe. I thought Doc was the one who played baseball in college. I sent the horses over to cover you.:

John took point, running in a crouch out the door, an energy field flickering over his skin which was much like the one Gaea had used to protect herself. Niko and Doc ran after, guns in hand, again keeping Winter between them.

They were barely out the door when the Scarecrow stepped into their path. Niko straightened and fired in one smooth motion. The ancient thing dodged the blaster fire but took a solid hit on the back of the head from Zach's gun while Triton and Brutus turned to place their bodies between the party and the Scarecrow.

And then John stepped forward, fists clenched, and focused—and threw the thing hard into the side of the mesa.

:All of you!: Niko shouted. :I need Doc to connect to the war being along with me, and I need support from the rest of you. We've got to hold Scarecrow off for a short while if this is going to work.:

From Goose she got a brief flash of an image: Ryker Killbane half buried under a pile of rock. She laughed, pulled a grenade from her belt, and armed it.

:Fire in the hole!: she shouted. They all made a dash forward as she stopped, pivoted, and made the throw. Mel raced from behind so that Niko could swing to his back. She counted down across the link. At "three," John pushed Winter down and covered her with his body. At "two," Niko sat back to stop Mel; he skidded to a halt in the shale and she rolled off his back and hunched down, covering her head and ears with her arms. The rain, falling slower now, pattered down on her back. She sensed her friends diving to the ground around her.

The Scarecrow had just climbed to its feet when the grenade hit the cliff face above its left shoulder. The resulting blast set Niko's ears ringing. She looked back, once the debris stopped falling, to see the Scarecrow almost entirely buried under boulders.

"We don't have much time," Zach said.

"Right!" Doc answered. "So we'd better move fast."

The Skollii stood, and Niko sensed they were staring at the top of the mesa. She tipped back her head and looked up—as a huge arm pushed farther free of the surface. The ground shook hard enough to make them all stagger. 

"Hurry!" Doc shouted. "If it breaks out of there we won't be able to send it back to sleep!"

Niko whirled and held out her hand. Doc seized it. Zach ran forward and grabbed Doc's free hand. Goose took Niko's hand and glanced over at Winter and John. Niko's hand was already dropping to her badge. And then she dropped into a six-way rapport and there was nothing in the world but pure thought.

WHO ARE YOU?

The mind of the Sleeper was one of the most alien things Niko had ever touched, even more foreign than the hive mind of the Traash. She met it without fear, knowing she was equal to this task; knowing, as she saw the protocols in Doc's mind, that Winter and Talisa and a handful of others had been designed for this precise purpose.

Knowing, as she saw the knowledge in Winter's, that the child, this early in her life, would not have been able to do this alone. But the girl was present in the back of her mind, there to steady Niko if she faltered.

From Doc came a stream of pure data as he fed passcodes to the ancient war being through the nexus of her mind.

YOU ARE NOT MY MAKERS.

:No,: Niko answered. :Your makers are all gone, but before it died the Heart of Alkor touched the mind of my friend and saw that we're here to help. You must return to sleep.:

IT IS NOT THE TIME FOR SLEEPING. MY ANCIENT ENEMY IS HERE. IT IS NOT ALONE. AN ENEMY LIES ABOVE.

:Oh, boy,: Doc thought. :How do we handle that one?:

Niko said, :If you fight him, this world may be destroyed.:

IT IS MY PURPOSE. BETTER TO DESTROY THIS WORLD THAN TO LEAVE THE ENEMIES FREE TO WORK THEIR EVIL.

:The ship above is not your enemy,: Niko told it. :It won't attack you again.: She sensed the being's disbelief and held the _Aegis_ ' purpose clear in your mind. :See,: she said. It paused, and she felt its reluctant agreement.

I WILL NOT ATTACK THE SHIP ABOVE. BUT I MUST FIGHT.

:No,: Doc said firmly. Niko felt another series of passcodes flow through her mind. There was another, longer pause.

NO, the Sleeper answered. YOUR CODES CANNOT BIND ME.

I WILL BE FREE. I WILL FIGHT.

The earth shuddered as, with a terrible slowness, the Sleeper shoved its entire arm free of the rock.


	8. Chapter 7

Alarm rippled through the group link. Thoughts flew from mind to mind, far faster than speech but still, Niko feared, far too slow.

Doc said frantically, :Give me a minute—I know there was at least one more command code in that data dump: They all felt him, connected to his programs, sifting through data at a prodigious speed.

:Contingency plan?: asked Zach. :Can we evacuate the planet and leave the two of them to duke it out? I don't like the prospect, but—:

Both John and Winter shook their heads. :You've seen the data, Captain Foxx,: John said. :The research established that if the Sleeper broke free, at a minimum most of this continent would be devastated. We have to stop this here and now.:

:How?: demanded Goose. :Ugly up there is blowing us off.:

:There was a failsafe,: Winter said quietly. :Just as the shaman on Tarkon gave up his life to keep the Heart of Tarkon alive, someone here could do the same.:

A shock of almost violent resistance rang within the link.

:You are _not_ going in there to die, Winter,: said Zachary flatly.

:Isn't it better than letting this world be destroyed?:

:Winter—: John began.

:We were created to protect, John! If this is the only way—:

Niko felt John's grief and closed her eyes in pain.

:No! No, just wait,: Doc demanded. The Sleeper shifted again, and more boulders crashed to the ground. 

Winter took a step back, shook her head, and, whirling, began to sprint toward the mesa. Goose snatched after her sleeve but missed. He cursed and took off after her.

:No!: cried John. :Winter, it's a bad solution! I can't see—:

At the base of the mesa, the rocks where the Scarecrow lay buried began to shift. 

Winter skidded to a halt. Goose, hot on her heels, clamped his hands down on her shoulders.

:Nobody's going in there to die, kid,: he said firmly. :Now let's—:

:I think—: Doc broke in. :Yeah! The code—I've found it.: He turned back toward the Sleeper. :Can the three of you—?: Niko gathered herself with an effort.

:Winter?: she said quietly. The girl and the Supertrooper hurried back; Goose laid a hand on Niko's shoulder, lending her strength, and the group link touched the behemoth's mind again. Still Niko felt resistance from the giant figure under the stone. It wanted to break free; it wanted to fight. She wavered, beginning to grow tired, and felt John's hand on her wrist.

:Lean on me,: the boy whispered, and took some of the burden on himself.

:You must return to sleep,: insisted Doc.

I MUST DESTROY MY ENEMY. YOUR PEOPLE WOKE ME WITH THEIR PRYING AND THEIR DIGGING. I WILL NOT RETURN TO MY REST. I MUST FULFILL MY PURPOSE.

:NO,: said Doc, and sent one final passcode. The Sleeper was silent for a moment. Everyone in the link held their breaths. The giant inside the mesa grew still.

I WILL OBEY. BUT MY ENEMY MUST NOT GO FREE.

Then, from Goose:

:Can you send your enemy back to the Dimension of Souls? The Heart of Tarkon did that once.:

I DO NOT KNOW THE WAY.

:The Heart of Tarkon does,: said Doc. Again he sent data to the Sleeper.

AH. IT CAN BE DONE, BUT I MUST GO THERE AND TAKE MY ENEMY WITH ME. I CANNOT SEND IT.

:Then—: Niko began.

PREPARE YOURSELVES. I MUST LEAVE THIS PLACE.

A blast of energy sounded from the base of the mesa, and the Scarecrow flung the rubble off itself and stood.

"Sleeper!" it howled. "At last we will fight!"

NO, came the answer. THERE WILL BE NO MORE FIGHTING.

There was a whistle from Goose, and Triton galloped forward, followed by the rest of the horses.

"You heard the man. This place is toast. Time to be elsewhere."

Niko, totally occupied with holding the link together, noticed only vaguely that she was being bundled onto Triton's back. Goose swung into the saddle behind her. Because he knew, she knew that John and Winter had vaulted onto Mel while Zach and Doc mounted up.

"Ha!" Goose shouted to his horse, and then the cybersteeds were thundering away from Perdition Mesa. The Scarecrow's howling fell away in the distance; Niko sensed that Winter, glancing back, could trace the play of energies about the mesa as the ancient creature hurled challenges at its foe. 

Through her connection with the Sleeper Niko felt the pressure of tons of rock yielding before the war being's tremendous strength. Through her connection with the others she heard the earthshaking roar of tons of rock crumbling away as the colossal figure stood for the first time in hundreds of millennia.

"Shit," muttered Goose in her ear, and he clamped one arm painfully tight around her. "Take it away, old friend," he told Triton, and wound his free hand in the cybersteed's synthetic mane. The horses skidded on wet shale as the earth jumped beneath them, but they corrected and kept going. 

Niko felt herself weakening again; out of contact with Zach and Doc, she could not maintain her draw on their implants. Her link to Zachary dropped; then she lost Doc.

:I'm here, Niko,: Winter whispered, and even from a distance she felt the girl lending her strength. :We were made to do this. Let me help you.:

They rode for their lives as the Scarecrow flung attacks at the Sleeper. The Sleeper never attacked in return, only caught its ancient foe's bolts in its huge palm and stood silently waiting for them all to reach safety. Occasional aftershocks still struck, for even though the Sleeper was no longer moving, it had destabilized the nearby faultlines, and the slippage had yet to stop.

The miles fell away behind them and the rain slackened and finally stopped. At some point they came out from under the cloud cover, and the sunlight stabbed at Niko's dilated pupils.

"Behind that formation!" Zach shouted. Triton changed course under her, and then the ground sloped downward slightly and she was being lifted down and pushed gently to huddle with the others in the lee of a huge rock formation.

With the last of her energy, Niko heard the Sleeper speak.

REST, FRIENDS. I WILL GO NOW TO THE DIMENSION OF SOULS AND TAKE MY ENEMY WITH ME. THIS PLACE WILL RETURN TO SILENCE. THE ANCIENT WARS ARE OVER.

:Let go, Niko,: Goose whispered.

She let go.

 

 

A sun bloomed on the surface of Brimstone. Energy shot skyward, vaporizing the clouds and leaving scorched air in its wake. The blast wave rolled outward, a heated wind that drove a tremendous front of dust before it, and the rumble shook their very bones.

 

 

"She all right, Gooseman?"

Goose glanced up at Zach and smiled briefly. "Yeah, Captain, she's just exhausted."

"S _he_ 's right here, and _she_ can hear you just fine," Niko grumbled, straightening up. Doc laughed.

"You missed the Ancient Wars Sound and Light Show, Ms. Niko," teased the hacker. "Tall, red, and bald back there—" he hesitated, and John's voice came into the silence.

"It changed its matter to energy and used the power to create a dimensional rift," said the tall boy, as offhandedly as if he were talking about a trip in an elevator. There was a startled pause, and then Goose snorted.

"Don't sound so confused, kid," he drawled. "A person might start to think you didn't know what you were talking about."

Niko, standing with an effort, turned to look back toward Perdition Mesa—and stared, appalled.

There was no Perdition Mesa. Nothing but a flat, empty stretch of bare rock.

"Yeah, the Sleeper kinda redecorated," Doc said, noting her expression.

Winter and John were looking, too, and Niko saw sorrow in their eyes. Talisa's and Gervaise's bodies must have been vaporized, she realized.

:I'm sorry,: she said to them. As one they turned their heads to look at her.

:We're soldiers,: answered John, as if no other answer were needed.

Perhaps, she thought sadly, no other answer was.

"We need to get back to the ship," Winter said quietly. "Cecia needs us."

Niko caught her breath. "Moira?" she asked softly, and closed her eyes for a moment at the pain on the small blond girl's face.

"Moira went into cardiac arrest after Talisa was killed," explained John to the others. "Cecia couldn't get her heart started again. We haven't been able to reach Cecia since she first called out to us."

"I think she has a backlash headache," added Winter in a low voice. "Moira had Cecia very tightly bound into the linkweb, and Cecia had a severe mental shock when Moira collapsed." 

Zach and Doc exchanged glances. Zach brought up his wrist comm. "Foxx to _Ranger One_ , come in. GV, please put Cecia on the line."

After an interval, Cecia's face appeared onscreen. "Yes, Captain Foxx?"

"Did GV tell you we've got an emergency cryogenic hibernation unit onboard?" asked Zach.

"Yes, Captain," the girl answered. "I just finished sealing Moira into it."

Some of the tension went out of Winter and John.

Zachary said gently, "Good. We're on our way back. Could you please heat some emergency high-energy rations for us? Niko's pretty much exhausted. If you kids could see about getting her settled in one of the cabins while we prep for takeoff, I know she could use the peace and quiet."

Cecia's face lightened a little. "Of course," she answered. "I'd be happy to help."

Zach smiled at her. "Thank you. Good job today. Foxx out."

 

 

 

Brimstone airspace outbound, on board _Ranger One_

0243

 

 

"Come in, _Ranger One_. This is the _Laredo_ , do you copy?"

"We're here, _Laredo_ ," Zach answered over Doc's whoop of "The cavalry has arrived!"

There was a pause and then Admiral Blake's face appeared on the comm screen. "Captain Foxx," he said. "Your people all right?"

"Negatory, Nat," said Zach. "Hit your scrambler, please." He waited while the signal resolved and then continued. "We lost two people down there—no, not my Rangers," he hastily amended as Blake looked stricken. "The four of us are fine, though Niko's exhausted. We had outside help from a covert ops group. Two of them were killed, and we've got one critically wounded in a CHU and needing emergency care. The crew of the _Aegis_ needs help, too. I hate to leave you to clean up the mess, but we've got to get back to BETA. Our wounded can't be treated in your medlab."

Blake scowled. "My medic was good enough to look after Ranger Niko," he began.

"Sorry, Nat. This one's got to be treated on Earth. She's a Supertrooper."

Blake's mouth hung open.

"It's a long story."

"Zach," Blake snapped, "if you think you're going to drop a line like that in my lap and then—"

"Warp coordinates plotted, Captain," Goose said loudly.

"You heard the man, Admiral," said Zach. "We'll catch you on the flip side—and you'll get the whole story. Take us out of the world, Gooseman."

"ZACHARY FO—"

The ship entered warp, and Doc snickered. "That has to be the best exit I've heard in—ever," he declared with a huge grin.

"Laugh while you can," sighed Zachary. "It's going to get worse before it gets better."


	9. Chapter 8

Staff lounge, Level 5, BETA Mountain

6/27/2099, 0458

 

 

Half-empty plates scattered about the dining table where Zach sat with his team. Doc was fiddling with his CDU with one eye on the Tri-D, where three news channels played in split screen. Goose slouched against the seat back, arms crossed on his chest and his eyes half lidded, but Zach knew the man was on high alert by the quality of his stillness. By his side Niko was watching her own hands aimlessly rotating her teacup in its saucer, a crease between her eyebrows. A handful of cadets were holding a half-hearted conversation in the seating area, but no one was truly paying attention to anything but the screen.

Zach eyed Niko and Goose with concern; the whole team was invested in the announcement to come, he knew, but the telepath and the Supertrooper had more reason than any normal human to be worried. If tension were tangible, he thought, you could slice it with a knife.

The door opened to admit Zozo and Waldo; the cadets hushed for a moment and then the whispers started again. Doc scooted silently down the bench to make room, and the two ambassadors took their seats. Just in time: on the Tri-D screen, the emblem of the World Federation interrupted broadcasts on all channels. There was a burst of chatter from the cadets as three different announcers on three different stations started their intros to the special session. Goose grunted in annoyance and muted two of the audio streams.

"Shh, they're about to make the announcement!"

"Button it!"

" _Shh._ "

Zach cleared his throat. The cadets fell silent. Goose sat up and Niko pushed her cup away as though she had only just noticed it.

A video feed from the Board of World Leaders chambers replaced the World Federation shield. At the podium set up at the front of the Senate floor stood Senator Aishwarya Chandrasekhar of India. She was a tall, statuesque woman dressed in the most formal of saris, her face sober beneath a jeweled _bindi_.

"My fellow citizens of Earth," she began. "We thank you for your patience in awaiting this announcement. After a lengthy process of debate and deliberation, and with full awareness of the gravity of the situation, the Board of World Leaders has rendered its vote."

The lounge was totally silent.

"By a nearly three-to-one margin, the Board has approved total immunity from prosecution or punishment for the genetically engineered supersoldiers known as the Skollii, unless and until any of the Skollii should violate any law or regulation of the World Federation or the League of Planets."

Niko's shoulders sagged in relief. Goose relaxed marginally. Doc puffed out his cheeks in a relieved breath.

Decency came through, thought Zach, and smiled.

Chandrasekhar continued, "We have appointed a special prosecutor to direct an investigation into the conduct of various officers and employees of the Office of Planetary Security as well as serving members of the Space Navy, the Galaxy Ranger Corps, the Planetary Defense Corps, and the League of Planets Peacekeeping Forces, among others. Be assured that any and all persons found to have been involved in the planning, funding, or execution of the so-called Skollii Project will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Doc's soft " _Yesss_ " was barely audible over the senator's voice.

"Further, the Board of World Leaders does formally avow and affirm that said Skollii Project was planned, funded, and executed without the knowledge or consent of the vast majority of Earth's governmental and armed services and that we as a body condemn the project in the strongest possible terms.

"Any and all individuals or groups of individuals who believe themselves to have suffered harm of any kind by any person or persons connected with the Skollii Project, in connection with the project, should contact the special prosecutor's office to file a claim.

"We thank our allies in the League of Planets and wish to express our gratitude for their support and patience during this very difficult and painful time."

The Indian woman hesitated, and her words lost some of the cadence of a prepared speech.

"To the people of Earth and her colonies, this Board extends our heartfelt apologies that such a shameful episode occurred on our watch. Such a thing should never have been allowed to happen. Please accept our assurances that we are putting procedures into place to prevent such incidents in the future.

"Finally, be aware that any senator who is found to have aided or abetted in the violation of any World Federation or League law or treaty will immediately forfeit his or her seat in this assembly and will of course be subject to prosecution. No one is immune who has committed such a comprehensive breach of the public trust." She paused again.

"Read out and entered into the record this twenty-seventh day of June in the Earth year 2099."

She placed her palms together before her breastbone and bowed slightly.

"Thank you," she said quietly, "and good night."

In the pandemonium, Zach and his team found it easy to slip away. They walked together, unspeaking, down the hallways of BETA Mountain as all around them the celebration spread.

 

 

 

Series Five Rangers' office

6/28, 1612

 

 

Doc leaned back in his chair, a satisfied grin on his face, and surveyed the documents arrayed on his screen. The office was quiet; Niko was resting at home on doctor's orders, Zach was with his kids, and Goose was—someplace.

We've all got more paperwork than you can shake a stick at, Doc thought ruefully, but I'm the one in here on a Sunday afternoon. Something wrong with that.

He skimmed down the pages in front of him: incident reports, memos, directory listings—the sum total of nearly a year's work. But still, he knew, it wasn't enough, and the smile faded.

Greer Latham is a rat bastard, but he's scary smart. He's better at keeping his hands clean than Brappo, Brent Carmody, and Alexei Leonov combined. He thinks he's untouchable. For pete's sake, he had two of his goons kidnap Niko straight from the spaceport and there's nothing concrete to prove that he had anything to do with it. Doc shook his head, brought a handful of documents to the foreground of his screen, and looked at them one by one.

Item: One set of orders transferring Niko to the _Resolute_ to help with a "top secret" issue related to the security of Earth. He snorted. Yeah, he thought, a security issue that was so darn top secret that Commander Rialto didn't know a thing about it. Wish I could say it didn't even sound plausible, but the sad thing is, governments do that kind of stuff all the time.

Item: One video clip showing Niko disembarking from a shuttle in the _Resolute_ 's bay under her own power and shaking hands with Greer Latham. Doc watched it again with mixed emotions; it was very well done, and he had to admire the skill that had gone into its making even as he felt his fingers itch to wreck the credit history, employment history, and even school history of the person who had done the work.

Item: One set of—dare I call it?—doctor's orders for "therapeutic immersion" to treat an inner ear disturbance that Doc knew perfectly well Niko had never suffered in her life.

He really does think he's untouchable. He's got living proof of his crimes—Winter, John, and the rest—and they could bury him if they testify. He obviously thinks none of them would ever go against him. If their training is anything like Gaea's, it's amazing they _can_ go against him.

He scowled. Note to self, he thought: be sure to add "child abuse" to his list of offenses.

And let's not even get into the terabytes of data he's had his hands into, even if his name's nowhere on it. Doc switched another set of documents to the front and ran his eyes down the long lists of names, numbers, and dates. At the top of one file was the notation _STP Objects_ ; at the other, _SP Objects._ He knew he was courting a one-way trip to a high-security prison if the wrong people caught him with those files, but Doc had long since stopped letting that kind of thing worry him.

What kind of sick-in-the-head person calls another person an object, anyway?

He searched out names he knew: Ryker Killbane, Stingray, Troy Marx, Shane Gooseman; Gaea, Winter, John, Cecia. Interesting that they didn't bother giving these kids last names, he mused. They knew they were never gonna be living openly among the general population, I guess, so why go to the trouble? He pulled a face and glanced at a name near the top of the list of Skollii.

_S_ usanna. IQ of 165, like we needed any more sick-in-the-head geniuses. Telepathy rating of 12, psychokinesis rating of 10 with a high aptitude for fine manipulation, clairvoyance rating of 12. Obviously good at turning people into sock puppets, considering how she got to Seth. The rest of the kids come in mostly about the same on ratings, I guess. He skimmed down the list again and quirked his eyebrows. Except for Lark, which, hoo boy, better she's on Xanadu learning good manners, and what the heck was Latham thinking?

But then there's Gaea...

He looked at her ratings and shook his head. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, people. Poor kid. Wonder if that's part of her instability, or if it just comes from what that rat did to her.

And thinking of what he did... I'm not gonna be the one to bring it up, but we're gonna have a hard time convicting the scumbag if Gaea won't testify. No way am I saying that to Goose, though.

He looked at Susanna's name one more time, sighed, and closed the files he'd been working on.

We're gonna have to bring her in, he thought. She's way too much trouble to leave wandering loose.

He wasn't looking forward to it. He knew what would happen to her if she was brought back to the Project, and though he absolutely believed she deserved what was coming to her, he'd seen the before-and-after photos of the two girls who'd been stripped of their telepathy, and it wasn't a pretty prospect.

Doc finished closing out his session and picked up his CDU. "Okay, guys, time for the usual routine," he said, and watched as his tweakers darted into his terminal, locked it down, and flitted back out. He clipped the CDU to his belt, pushed back his chair, and stretched.

"Long day," he said to no one in particular, and wandered out of the office.

 

 

 

Series Five Rangers' office

6/30/2099, 0830

 

 

"Good morning, Zachary."

He glanced up, startled. "Niko," he said. "Good morning. I didn't hear you come in. I must have been a million miles away. Aren't you supposed to be at home resting?"

"The doctor just released me to go on half duty," she answered with a smile. "I'll be here until lunchtime and then I'll go home."

Zach smiled in return, and Niko went on, "I just wanted to let you know that Alaina, Michael, and Darien want to return to Earth. Ariel agrees they'll probably be happier here, with the other children."

He blinked. "I suppose that makes sense," he said. "They're the oldest, aren't they?"

"Yes, except for Minako. But Lark and Holly are both happier on Xanadu, and Minako won't leave Holly until Holly bonds with someone else." Her expression grew wry. "Rose is—Rose, is how Winter puts it. She'll be better off by far with people who can guide her gifts, which even among psionics are rather unusual. Winter—" The smile disappeared. "Winter tells me Rose came very close to being terminated because Dr. Latham was doubtful of her long-term usefulness. And we're waiting until Cassandra is old enough to decide for herself. She won't be alone with the others there. If she wants to rejoin the Skollii at some point, we can arrange for her transport here. And speaking of transport here, that brings me to my second question for the morning. You know that Gaea is living in Frontier?"

"I gathered, yes. That's the only way she could have gotten that chip into the weather globe. What about it?"

"You know we're going to need her testimony if we want to convict Greer Latham of the charges related to her case."

Zachary sighed. "Yes. I hate to put her through it, but we really need her."

The door opened to admit Goose and Doc, cheerfully debating the merits of fiber optic cables versus WiFi in stereo systems of the 2010s. Doc waved an absent hand in Zach and Niko's direction, but the two men kept talking as they took their seats.

"Gooseman," said Zach. The tall blond man turned his head, his eyebrows lifted interrogatively. "Niko and I were just discussing the need for witnesses to testify against Greer Latham."

Goose's expression went guarded.

"We already know where Gaea's been living," Zach continued. "Now that the Board of Leaders has voted not to prosecute, it's safe for her to—"

"It won't be safe until that asshole and everyone who reports to him is rotting in a jail cell," snapped Goose.

"Shane," Niko said quietly, "we need her testimony to put together an indictment strong enough that a judge will deny him bail."

"She's right, my Goose man. The man would disappear like a shot if we didn't park him in jail."

Goose scowled.

"We've found the mole who betrayed Gaea," Zachary pointed out. "Without him around, we can bring her in secretly, at least until the trial starts. In fact, if we brought in a number of the kids at once, they could protect each other more effectively than we could ever hope to. Niko, would you be willing to go and pick up the three on Xanadu who want to come back?"

"Of course. It's a solid plan. She should get a chance to know them before the trial starts. In fact, I think I'll suggest to John and Winter that they come up with a way to get to BETA in the next few days. I think they'll be able to help her. I think they'll all be able to help each other."

Zach looked at Goose and waited. The big Supertrooper looked stubborn.

"I don't like it," he said finally.

Niko pressed, "But you'll do it? Please?"

He looked at her and the fight seemed to go out of him.

"Yeah," he answered wearily. "I'll do it. But she may not want to come."

"I'm confident you can deal with that," said Zach. "She trusts you."

You walked with her on her way out of hell, he didn't say.

"When do we want to do this?" Doc asked.

Zach raised his hands in a shrug. "There's no time like the present. The sooner we get her testimony, the sooner we can make the arrest. Goose, go prep a P-38. I'll make it right with the commander. We've all been on a reduced caseload recently anyway, since Gaea's case has become highly relevant again."

Goose stood silently and left the office. Niko and Doc traded a look, and then Niko glanced at Zach for permission before following the ST out the door. Doc watched her go and then looked up to see Zach watching him.

"What," the hacker said a bit defensively.

"How long would it take you to assemble every bit of admissible evidence you've got on Greer Latham?" asked Zachary.

Doc smiled. "Maybe ten minutes," he answered. "I've been updating my evidence file about once a week since the day we brought Gaea back from Mars."

Zach felt his eyebrows shoot upward.

"Hey, I hate the man's guts, too, you know."

Somehow at that it was easier to laugh than it had been in months.

 

 

"Shane!"

Goose stopped in the hallway but didn't turn. His hands, hanging loose at his sides, closed into fists, and he forced them to relax. Niko caught up and came around to stand in front of him. She looked worried.

"I'm not angry, Niko," he made himself say. "It's just—"

She smiled sadly. "You've been protecting her for so long that it's hard to let go." There was a silence. Goose wondered exactly what his face looked like. Niko added in a low voice, "I know you better than anyone else alive, Shane Gooseman, except maybe for her. And that's only because there are places I won't go."

She began to turn away and he shot out his hand to catch her elbow.

"Niko—"

She looked up at him.

"When this is all over I want to talk to you about her. About all of them. They're—" He stopped. "You three—are family, and so are they. But it's not the same."

"No," she said softly. "It's not. Tell her I said hello, will you? And tell her I'll be happy to see her. Family shouldn't be strangers."

She walked away then, and he watched her go.

 

 

 

Frontier, Nebraska

6/30/2099, 1156 local time

 

 

Goose stopped in front of the dry goods store. He tipped back his hat and glanced up at the second floor, where a pair of windows showed neatly made clothing. The lettering in the first-floor window read _Clothing made to order. Inquire within. 2_ _ nd _ _Fl._

He stepped up onto the wooden sidewalk. In the window he could just make out his black-clad reflection. His boots raised hollow echoes as he entered the shop.

"May I help you, sir?"

The proprietor of the shop, a round little woman with black-speckled gray hair, smiled from behind the counter. Goose nodded to her and indicated the sign behind him.

"I'm here for the seamstress," he said. "That the way up?" He tipped his head toward the stairs.

"That's right, sir."

He nodded again and touched the brim of his hat. She watched him go.

The stairs were thickly carpeted. Goose ghosted up to where a second door at the top showed a lit window. A bell jingled cheerfully as he opened the door. The small, bright room was crowded with work tables where bolts of fabric were neatly stacked next to pincushions, shears, bins of thread, and boxes of buttons. A half-drafted pattern covered one table. He was just closing the door behind him when her voice emerged from behind a screen in the corner.

"Closed for lunch!"

He snorted, and her infectious giggle preceded her. She flew across the floor and threw her arms around his neck.

"Shane, you came to visit me!" But even as the last word left her lips, the smile dropped off her face. She let him go and took two fast steps back. "No," she almost whispered, looking up into his face. "Why?"

Instead of answering her directly, he asked, "You've been listening to your disc every night?"

"Yes. I'm a lot better." He could see the shadow still in her eyes, but the dark circles were gone. She looked rested and stronger and not so haunted. "Why did you come, Shane?" she insisted.

"I need your help. The other kids decided they didn't like his version, so they're writing their own now. The ones who were dogging you are reformed or gone or brain-burned." Her face went white. "Hey, they made their bed and now they're lying in it. You wanna come be a witness for the prosecution?"

She bit her lip, afraid and indecisive.

"You been keeping up with the news?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted in a thread of a voice.

"Come back to Earth with me. I can bring you back when it's all over."

There was a brief silence, and she said, barely louder, "To what? My face is going to be all over the Tri-D." The sadness on her face struck him deep.

"Yeah," he admitted. "You're a legal adult now. The Andorians and Kiwis demanded public trials for all of the OPS agents. The Board's pissed, but they've got no leg to stand on for keeping any of this mess classified considering OPS broke the League treaty. Latham's got the right to face his accuser, and that means you in open court."

She flinched, and he touched her shoulder. "Hey," he said gently. "If you can't do this, you can't. I've got no right to demand it of you."

"But I don't want to be afraid any more," she whispered.

"Then don't be. Look, some of the kids escaped out to Niko's homeworld and a few  of 'em are coming back today. You can watch each other's backs. You can spend time with the three of them, maybe a few of the others, figure out what you want to do next. Come with me, face Latham, and take your life back."

"I—"

"Niko asked me to say hello. She wants to see you."

Tears stood in her eyes. "That's not fair," she said faintly.

"Sure it is," he said with a grin. "She really does."

She laughed even through the tears. "You're awful."

"I'm me. Same thing. Coming?"

There was a long silence.

"Yes," she whispered, and then cleared her throat, blinking hastily to clear her eyes. "Yes," she said firmly. "If the others have really decided to go against him, and if it's really true what the senator said, that we wouldn't go to the—"

"Yes and yes."

"Then yes."

He felt his face split in a huge grin. "Right on, little girl," he said, and he grabbed her in a hug and tousled her hair. Her arms snaked around him and she buried her face in his shirt front for a moment, then looked up.

"But I don’t know how I'm going to tell my friends here—" She trailed off.

"I know," he agreed. "Rip the bandage off, kid. You want to do it in person, now? Or by comm system, later? And who're you gonna tell?"

She stared at the floor, shoulders drooping, for a moment; then his brows quirked as she straightened, lifting her head and meeting his eyes.

"Now," she said in determination. "I'll tell Sheriff Ladd. He's always been helpful and fair."

"Right. Why don't you go get your stuff packed up. I'll get hold of the sheriff—I'll have him come here. How long to get back from your apartment?"

The girl smiled. "This _is_ my apartment. I actually sleep in the back there—" she pointed to a closed door— "so it'll only be about ten minutes."

"Geesh. Girl, we have got to work on turning you into a civilian. Even Niko takes half an hou—ow!"

"Thug."

"Brat."

 

 

 

1248

 

 

Bob Ladd ran one hand through his hair, his face a study and his eyes thoughtful. "Well," he said at last, "witness protection. That explains some things I never could quite sort out."

The three of them stood by the main work table, where Gaea's bag sat neatly packed and fastened. The drapes were down over the windows, casting the room into filtered shade.

Goose watched Gaea waver. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Sheriff Ladd," she blurted out, shame and sadness dimming her eyes.

"Now, Miss Lia, there's no need for that. You were keeping safe, and I'm all in favor of that. If you're in protection, you keep silent. Those are the rules, and they're good ones. So what's next?" The sheriff glanced back and forth between them. "You'll be testifying, and the case sounds mighty big. Don't reckon you'll have quite the same life when all's said and done."

"No," she said, fidgeting with the strap of her bag. "I'm sure I won't. I'm going to be the bad kind of famous. No matter where I go, people might recognize me. It's not safe for the town if I come back. But I've been happy here. Everyone was good to me. I'll miss it."

"Come visit, then," Ladd encouraged. "Amy will be waiting."

Gaea sighed and closed her eyes, her face wobbling. "Amy. Will you tell Amy for me? If she can understand?" She scrubbed at her eyes and then opened them again. The sorrow in them hit Goose in the gut. She loves that kid, he realized, and it struck a pang in him.

Starting over can suck, he thought.

"Of course, Miss Lia. Now I think it's time for you to go, so I'll say goodbye." The sheriff stepped forward and extended a hand for Goose to shake. "Ranger Gooseman," Ladd continued, "thanks for all the help you've given to my town. You folks are always welcome here, and if you ever need anything from me, you just get in touch, you hear?"

"Thanks, Sheriff," answered Goose, and shook hands.

Ladd lifted his hat to Gaea, his eyes alight with kindness. "You come back and see us, now. Don't be a stranger." And with that, he left the studio, the bell jangling down to silence in his wake.

There was a pause.

"Let's go, Shane," she said. "I don't want any more goodbyes. They hurt."

"Yeah," he agreed, and led the way.

 

 

 

Series Five Rangers' office

6/30, 1601

 

 

Doc scanned down the headlines. "General Bruno of PDC Indicted in 'Skollii' Scandal."  "Special prosecutor: Nine senators implicated, more to come." "Superchildren to start school; demonstrations planned." He blinked and reread that last one.

"Oh, great," he muttered.

"You don't think they'll fit in?"

"AAH!" Doc jumped a foot and fell off his chair. Laughing, Goose came forward to give him a hand up. From her spot by the door, Gaea gave a shy wave.

"See, it works," she informed Goose mischievously.

"What works?" Doc demanded. "Giving inoffensive computer psychiatrists heart failure?"

"No," she said with a smile. "Hiding people. I've been practicing."

"Lucky me. Nice to see you again, Gaea. You're looking well."

She ducked her head. "Thanks," she said softly. "Thanks—for everything. Your ID program worked really well."

"Where's Zach?" asked Goose.

"Seth got back from the hospital. Clean bill of health."

"That's great." To Gaea, Goose explained, "The guy who did your genetic workup. He got—hurt in April."

"Hurt."

"Uh—kinda shot," Doc said nervously. She winced. "But he's fine now. All done with physical therapy, the whole works."

"Did OPS..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, Winter said it was Susanna," Goose answered. "The one who was mainly behind the harassment. She ran a drug addict around like a puppet to shoot Seth and a coworker of his from the forensics labs. The guy had a convenient overdose when she was done with him."

Her eyes narrowed. "Her," she said, and at the chilly tone Doc's eyebrows went up. "That girl orchestrated my finding out about BETA's mole being—murdered. Dr. Latham used an experimental strain of nanites to give the poor man a stroke. And she made sure I'd end up in the right corridor at the right time to see what no one wanted me to see. She's extremely bright but totally psychopathic."

Doc felt his jaw drop. "Nanites? That's so, so, incredibly—" He waved his hands, at a loss for words for once in his life.

"Dangerous?" she said. "Illegal? Irresponsible? Yes. I can testify about that bit, too. Although—" She looked at Goose. "He didn't tell me himself, so they probably won't let that be part of the record."

Goose shrugged. "Tell them anyway. You go, you take the oath, you say what you saw, and the rest is on the lawyers and the judge. Not your problem."

"So what happens next?" the girl asked.

"You swear out a complaint, the judge looks at it and decides Latham's a bad boy and issues a warrant, and we go arrest his rotten, baby-torturing ass," said Doc. Gaea's eyes went a bit wide. He grinned at her. "No, I don't like him, either," he told her cheerfully.

"That's all I have to do before you can arrest him?" asked Gaea doubtfully.

Goose took her hand. "Yep," he said. "That's all. Doesn't seem like much, does it?"

"Huh." Slowly a smile spread across her face. "It's a beginning."


	10. Chapter 9

Series Five Rangers' office, BETA Mountain

7/2/2099, 1157

 

 

"Hey. Zach."

Zach didn't look up from his coffee. "Yeah, Doc?"

"The _Saoirse_ attackers?"

At that he glanced around.

"Yeah?"

"Found 'em. Three of our four ducks, all in a row. On your screen—now."

Zach read the very short report on his screen, grinned, and opened a connection to Walsh. The commander's answering "Walsh here" sounded over Doc's cheerful "Hey, Goose, when did you start giving a class called 'Smiling for Scary People'?"

"Commander, how fast can we assemble a strike team for an arrest operation in North Africa? Doc's tracked down the _Saoirse_ attackers," Zach said.

Walsh settled back in his chair with a satisfied smile. "I'll sign off on the paperwork the minute it shows up on my desk," he said. "Excellent work from your team as usual, Zachary."

"Thank you, sir. It'll be there within the hour."

Walsh nodded. "Good hunting," he said, and closed the connection.

 

 

 

18 Rue Mohamed Khoudi, Algiers, Algeria

7/3/2099, 0822

 

 

"Weapons check," Zachary ordered.

Zach and Goose were crouched with a small squad of Galaxy Rangers in a van parked around the corner from the front side of a nondescript office building. The morning was already warm with a promise of high-summer heat to come, but a cool breeze off the Mediterranean played over their hair and stirred the dust in the gutters.

The van where they were concealed was marked as a telco transport; indeed, the Ranger sitting in the driver's seat wore the coverall of a repairman over his uniform. Next to him in the passenger seat, a tech specialist with the Algiers police monitored radio chatter. The sound of sidearms being checked filled the back of the vehicle.

Zach told the Rangers, "Be prepared for trouble. OPS agents are unpredictable—some of them want to go down fighting, but some seem to get by on just avoiding notice."

"Yeah, but these are part of the _Saoirse_ group, Zach," Goose pointed out. "My bet's on their putting up a fight."

Zach pretended not to hear a muttered "Great" from one of the other Rangers.

"All right then," said Zach. "On our go sign, the local police will move civilians away from the target. Gooseman, I want you to take three people and go around back. Be sure no one gets out that way. Private Maameri," he added, "have you got your cracking software ready?"

One of the younger Rangers, a tall North African woman, looked up from her onboard computer. "Yes, Captain," she said. "Shall I set it off?" At Zach's nod, she tapped a few keys; studying her screen, she said, "We're good to go, sir. The doors should open to your retinal print. Same for you, Ranger Gooseman."

"Good," answered Zachary. "Monitor their comm traffic. On my mark, cut their lines."

"Yes, sir."

Goose gave a thumbs up. "Right," he said. "Zhang, al-Rashid, Makebe, you're with me." The three nodded. Zach craned his neck to glance over at the monitor screens mounted in the partition behind the driver.

"Okay, the street's a bit clearer now," he said, and opened a channel on his wrist comm. Almost instantly, the weathered face of a veteran sergeant with the Algerian Sûreté Nationale took shape on the screen.

"Ready, Captain Foxx?" the man asked.

"We're ready, Sergeant Alloula. Please clear the street."

Zach watched, impressed, as ten plainclothed civil police officers moved smoothly and quickly among the crowds. There were still plenty of people in the street—workers carrying briefcases, students with satchels slung over their shoulders, a mother with a baby in a sling—but as the officers spoke quietly to them, they began taking themselves elsewhere. No one ran or panicked; the crowds merely melted away under the guidance of law enforcement.

"Let's go," Zach ordered, and Makebe nodded and opened the side door of the van. The Rangers piled out.

"We'd better get in there, Captain," Goose said under his breath. "They're gonna notice inside that something's up, the way the crowd's evaporating."

"Yes. Go."

Goose jerked his head toward the back of the building, and he and his team trotted purposefully toward the rear door.

"Private Maameri, please cut their comm lines now," Zach said.

"Yes, sir. —It's done. Good luck, sir." The young woman pulled the van door shut to return to her monitors.

By now only a handful of pedestrians were still in sight. Zach signaled his team and led them to the front entrance.

 

 

"Sir? That's the last of the security team. They're all in restraints in the front meeting room."

"Good work, Ranger Tyler. You and Ranger Hamdi are to secure the noncombatant agents in their offices and do a final sweep to make sure you've cleared out anyone who could come up behind us. I'll take—"

Blaster fire sounded from further back in the building.

"Damn. I was hoping we'd have more time. Maurer, Bonnard, and Falk, with me." Zach led the dash toward the sound of the fighting. Running, he keyed his wrist comm. "Gooseman," he snapped into the pickup, "if you can answer, give me a status report."

No reply. The firing stopped. Zach ground his teeth.

"Reckon he's busy, sir," ventured Maurer.

"You think?" Bonnard muttered. Then, louder, "I think it's in the vehicle bay, sir."

"The actual term is _loading dock_ , mate," Maurer informed him. Bonnard shot him a dirty look.

"Can it," snapped Zach.

"Just ahead and to the right, sir," Falk said. "I memorized the building layout."

Zach hefted his pistol. "Good."

 

 

Never, Goose thought sourly, invite amateurs to an expert's game.

His team had already stunned one of the targets; the man lay still, halfway to the exit. He wasn't the problem.

Zhang had taken a shot to the shoulder; al-Rashid was doing a hasty first-aid job, but it was going to take a bit longer before either one could pick up a pistol. Makebe was outside in the alley, holding the door. None of them was the problem, either.

No, the problem was the man holding his coworker's arms pinned to her body and a gun muzzle glued to the side of her head.

She was spitting mad; it didn't take a genius to see that. _He_ was panicking.

"Just let me go and, and—"

"Don't be an idiot, Kato," Goose said wearily. "Where the hell do you think you're gonna go? Put the gun down and let the lady loose. I promise I'll even keep her from kicking your sorry little ass."

"No! No, I can't go to jail!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided to play taxi driver for a crew of pirates," Goose retorted.

"They—we weren't pirates!"

"Oooookay. Thieves, then."

The sound of running footsteps approached. Kato's attention was momentarily diverted—and the woman in his grip took her chance. No finesse there: she simply slammed the back of her head into Kato's nose. The man wailed and staggered back. She whirled, snatching for his gun.

Right, putting the kibosh on that right now—

Goose aimed and fired—but she'd already fallen into a roll. He felt his eyebrows shoot upward as she came to her feet with the partial cover of a workbench between him and her. She aimed at him with hands that were utterly steady. Definitely not an amateur. Kato cowered nearby.

"What's the deal?" Goose asked her, spreading his arms. "You gonna shoot me?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Go ahead. Won't do you much good. We've got too many barrels aimed your way. And I'm pretty hard to kill."

Zach and his team hit the doorway; Goose heard barked orders, and all four Rangers took up defensive positions using the door frame for cover. Five gun barrels now had a bead on  her head; Makebe didn't have the angle.

He saw the OPS agent measure her odds and find them wanting. She turned her head to glare at Kato; her weight shifted as though she were going to kick him.

"Don't even think about it," Goose said coldly, and she looked at him with hatred in her eyes and slowly crouched to set down her pistol.

"Freak," she said viciously.

Just what I needed—another ST hater.

But, "Lady," Goose said scornfully, "better than you have said worse."

She spat on the floor. Zach's team came through the door, then, and from the corner of his eye Goose saw the stunned man begin to stir. Makebe came forward to take him in hand.

Zach stood in the center of the room like the personification of law and order. Eyebrows drawn down in a thunderous frown, he announced, "Joel Lydecker, Lucinda Olofsdotter, and Yoshinori Kato, I have a warrant for your arrest on charges of piracy, assault, and grand theft against the crew of the Earth cargo ship _Saoirse._ "

Goose took a special and admittedly not-very-professional pleasure in cuffing Olofsdotter.

Nothing like the sound of handcuffs closing on a perp's wrists to make my morning. Too bad we didn't get Burke in this sweep. It'd be nice to arraign all four of those thugs at the same time. Guess we'll just have to settle for three out of four for now.

I only wish our next target were going to be this easy.


	11. Chapter 10

Mars City Police Department

7/6/2099, 0448

 

 

Doc tapped his forefinger on the desk as he waited for the server to return his search results.

"Damn, this computer's slow," he muttered.

"That's the third time this morning you've said that. You're getting boring."

He turned his head to glower at Goose. The Supertrooper—leaning against the cubicle partition, arms crossed, and far too relaxed for Doc's taste—smirked at him

"I'd rather be sleeping right now, the weather's too chilly, the coffee sucks, and the server's slow, okay?" he snapped, and glanced back at his screen, pretending not to hear Goose snickering. "Finally."

Niko leaned around the partition from the next cubicle over. "You got something?" she asked with interest. She rose from her chair as almost an afterthought and leaned around Goose to look at Doc's terminal.

Doc looked from the corner of his eye at her hand on the tall ST's arm. Uh huh, he thought, feeling a slow smile creep across his face. "Yep," he said, suddenly cheerful in the face of that silent understanding growing between his two teammates. "Never let it be said that, even cranky, the Doctor cannot come up with the goods. _Et voilà_! A cross-referenced search result from the vidcam records of every transit station, every cash point, _and_ every place in Mars City where you can buy food."

The two of them came to stand  behind Doc. "How do you get access to all these video camera records, anyway?" Niko asked him.

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Trade secret!" She pretended to smack him upside the head, and he laughed. "Hey, I have to have some secrets, don't I? Anyway. To business. I ran all those video records through a search-and-sort and came up with a few possible hits. Searchlight, show me the best matches in side-by-side."

The screen split into five panes, each showing a frame from a video feed. Niko leaned forward over Doc's shoulder to peer at the images.

"That one," she said with certainty, pointing.

"Looks like it," Doc agreed. "She didn't even pick up a new sock puppet. So much for super genius."

"Sock puppet? Ugh," muttered Niko.

Goose said, "Hey, if the shoe fits. And it's got less to do with brains than it does with knowing the world outside the project, if their training is anything like what they put us through at Wolf Den. When I started at the academy, I could field strip and reassemble any weapon they could throw at me in the time it took the other trainees just to take theirs apart, I could track anybody anyplace, I knew... a lot of ways to kill someone, and I'd already gotten my pilot's license, but I had no idea how to go grocery shopping. She probably thinks she's covered her tracks well enough. They're staying where?"

"Second-rate boardinghouse. They were smart enough not to use a hotel where there'd be video cameras all over the place, but they still had to pass by the subway station down the street. Interesting—if you go by what my Goose man just had to say, our Mr. Burke should be guiding the little psychopath through these rough bits, and he's not."

"Well..." Niko said slowly. "She may be controlling his actions with respect to how he deals directly with her, but he's probably found dozens of little ways to sabotage her plans, because she may be a psionic, but she's not all-powerful."

"Small favors. Okay, Ms. Niko, now what?"

"Doc," Goose cut in, "run a check to see if there are any other known OPS agents in the city, will you? I want to know if he's managed to contact anyone, or if anyone's tracked him down the same way we have."

"Ha! Not likely. But okay. Pathfinder, get in there and rummage."

"Okay, Doc!" The little program popped through the screen. Doc leaned back in his chair.

"That's gonna take a bit. In the meantime—Niko?"

"We're going to need to take her by surprise," Niko said. "Winter isn't sure if she can control more than one person at a time, but if she can, we'll have a real problem if she senses us coming."

"It doesn't sit well with me, not announcing ourselves and going through the front door," Goose said. "But you're right, Niko; she'd have enough warning to really cause trouble."

"Too bad we can't get our hands on that psychic jammer," reflected Doc, and then groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "No, it's not, because it'd mess you up, too. Duh. Umm. Hey, quit laughing."

Goose snickered again. "No."

"I've been thinking about that," Niko said. "I can easily protect one of you from psychic interference, but it'll be a bit harder to take care of both of you at once, and I wouldn't be able to take any action against Susanna directly."

"Hey, I'll gladly volunteer to stay in a nice unmarked police van down the street a bit if it means not risking getting my brains turned into bok choy." Doc spun his chair and grinned up at her.

"It would probably be best," she said, not a flicker of a smile on her face, and Doc felt his jaw drop.

"Uh."

"Yep, Doc," Goose told him cheerfully, "sometimes you really do get to stay home."

"But—uh—"

Would you think badly of me if I got up and cheered?

"We need somebody on the outside to watch the street and coordinate the op," Goose pointed out. "You can rig a surveillance feed into Niko's handheld, can't you?"

"Sure, I can do that. You guys really sure—"

"Yes, Doc, we're sure," said Niko patiently.

"I bet Zach won't like it," he muttered.

"Think of a couple more useful things you can do from the van and he won't mind," Goose suggested.

"Well—let me get started on getting you through the door with a minimum of fuss, just for starters. And we'll need a plainclothes officer from the PD to provide a diversion. I think our Officer Warren's gonna be looking for a place to sleep. And..."

Doc, busily hatching ideas, hardly noticed when they went away.

 

 

 

1226 Elysium Boulevard, Mars City

7/6/2099, 0603

 

 

Doc gave them a jaunty two-fingered salute and slammed the door of the van. Niko turned to Goose and caught a smirk on his face. She cocked her head curiously.

"Well, don't tell Doc," he said cheerfully, "but the only people who should really be using that salute are soldiers from Poland—and Cub Scouts."

She couldn't help giggling.

"Hey, I heard that!" said Doc's voice. "And—sound check."

Goose widened his eyes dramatically at Niko. "Oops," he said in mock dismay.

"You're coming in loud and clear, Doc," Niko said mischievously, tapping her earbug.

"Funny people. Okay, the side door into the boardinghouse kitchen opens onto the alley around the corner. I'm looping a fake video feed into it—now. I don't wanna let just any riff-raff off the street through that door, though, so the lock's going back on in ninety seconds. Move it, you two. Warren's ringing the front doorbell now—so keep an ear out for the landlord coming back from the front door to work on breakfast. Oh—and Pathfinder hasn't found any sign that Burke's in contact with anyone, or that anyone's found him or Susanna."

"So we won't have to worry about that, at least," Goose muttered.

"We hope," said Doc.

Goose and Niko trotted down the sidewalk and around the corner. The alley was just beyond. She glanced over at him as they turned down the narrow way.

:Shane?: He smiled and held out a hand. Forming a link was as simple as brushing her fingertips against his. Niko focused for a moment and screened them from psychic detection. :It's not foolproof, but it'll help.:

:I'm getting used to this,: he thought.

:So maybe psychic contact isn't so bad after all?:

:...reserving comment for later.: But a small grin was tipping up one corner of his mouth.

They reached the doorway and glanced at each other. Niko focused for a moment and confirmed that no one was in the kitchen; she nodded to Goose, but he was already reaching out to tug at the door. He grinned for real as it opened silently.

"Second floor, end of the hall," Doc whispered into Niko's earbug. They ghosted out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. She noticed that Goose reached up and adjusted the external sound buffer on his earclip.

:Never have liked blocking the ear canal,: he explained, and drew his pistols.

She checked her handheld. There was very little foot traffic on the street this early. On her screen she could see the landlord talking with Private Warren at the front door.

Goose led the way up the stairwell. There were two doors on each side of the hallway. Niko tilted her handheld so that the built-in camera could show Doc their surroundings.

"Uh..." he whispered, "end of the hall, left side. I think."

She looked incredulously into the camera pickup.

"Sorry, sorry... Yeah. No! There it is. Right side."

They took up positions on either side of the door. Niko felt Goose gathering himself.

Something pinged off her senses. She felt her eyes widen. Goose's eyes narrowed as he felt it through her—and with one great kick, he slammed the door open. The room beyond was dark.

"Galaxy Rangers!" he shouted. "Lie flat on the floor, hands behind your heads!"

A blaster bolt hit the wall behind them. From the burning smell of it, Niko realized that Burke had his weapon tuned for lethal force.

:Right, didn't think that'd work—Niko, can you get the lights on in there?: Using the doorframe as cover, he fired at something she couldn't see.

A moment's concentration, and she found the switch on the wall near the door. Light flooded the sitting room inside. She had one confused glimpse of a figure crouching behind a table before Susanna's attack slammed into her mind. Her head twitched in reflex.

:She's in the room beyond this one. We've got to get in there, Goose!:

:Yeah, tell it to sock puppet boy there.: He and Burke exchanged fire again. Niko narrowed her eyes in concentration.

:I think I can disrupt her control of Burke for just—:

A cry of anger came from the bedroom. A small figure edged just past the corner of the wall, and Niko's gaze met Susanna's. The girl's eyes burned with fury and hatred.

:Freak,: she snarled on a wide beam. Goose heard it through Niko, and he snorted.

"Kid," he said aloud, "better than you have said worse."

Burke fired again—at Niko this time. Almost absently she whipped up her hand; a small force shield formed and the weapon fire splattered off it. Susanna's eyes went wide. Niko turned her mind on the girl and the Skollii rocked back on her heels.

:Surrender,: Niko demanded.

:No.:

:Surrender,: Goose snapped, and he fired again at Burke. The other man didn't fire back, just crouched in the cover of an end table. Niko sensed that his eyes were roving back and forth between her and Susanna. She felt the girl groping after control of the man, and almost without thought Niko blocked the attempt.

:No!:

Niko could clearly sense the girl's desperation and rage.

:I won't! I won't let them burn me!:

:That's no longer up to you,: said Niko. :People like us have a responsibility in how we use our gifts. You've abused yours. You made the choice. You're going to have to live with the consequences.:

:NO!:

Niko touched her badge and raised her left hand. A beam of light shot from her fingers and enveloped Susanna, and the girl cried out in fear as Niko began to pull her forward into the sitting room.

"No!" she shrieked, and battered at Niko, at first telepathically—but then a lamp rose from its place on a table and shot toward Niko's head. She ducked and let it shatter on the wall of the hallway. Dimly she heard Doc exclaim through her earbug. A chair followed, and Goose leapt forward into the room to catch it. The impact rocked him, but he spun with the thing's velocity, like an Olympic hammer thrower, and let it fly across the sitting room toward Burke, who ducked.

:Nice throw,: Niko told him absently, and kept dragging Susanna toward her. Centered, in close mental contact with Goose, she realized it was almost as easy to draw on his implant as on her own, and when Susanna hurled the Tri-D monitor toward her, she caught it easily and set it on the floor in the hallway behind her.

The Skollii was all the way into the room now, and Goose darted forward. Holstering one gun in a blur of motion, he grabbed Susanna's arm and twisted it behind her. With his free hand, he kept one pistol pointed at Burke.

"Put your gun down and lie on the floor with your hands behind your head," he snapped toward the OPS agent. Susanna was still struggling. He shifted his hold, and she yelped in pain.

:Careful, Shane. It's easier for her to strike at you when you're in contact with her.:

:Yeah, but it's harder for a telepath to concentrate when she's in pain—right?:

She quirked a brow at him. :True.: Then, :I'll have to remember never to make you really angry.:

"Final warning, Mr. Burke," she said aloud.

The man began slowly to rise.

"No!" she snapped. "Drop your gun and—"

Burke raised his pistol. He and Goose fired at the same moment. Burke fell to the floor as Goose's stun blast hit him—

And the back of Susanna's head exploded, splattering Goose with a hideous mess of blood and brains. Niko, caught in close mental contact with everyone in the room, reeled. Goose dropped the girl's body and lunged forward to support her. She recoiled involuntarily.

He checked, looking down at himself. :Shit. I'm—sorry.: She heard him thinking to himself, Not too often I really want to say that. To her, he added, :Are you—will be you okay?:

:Yes,: she answered, knowing her mindvoice sounded weak. She leaned against the doorframe, her head throbbing.

"Dammit," Goose snarled. He glared at the unconscious Burke. "Why did you have to—"

"No," she said faintly, and she raised her eyes to his. "He didn't." She nodded to the small, limp form on the floor.

"She did."

He looked momentarily shocked. "She didn't want to live without her powers?" he guessed.

"No, Shane." For a moment Niko couldn't speak. "No," she said again. "She was aiming for you."

Their eyes met; held. His held regret, frustration, anger... worry.

She didn't want to know what hers looked like.

:Niko—: he started, and then there were footsteps pounding up the steps, and Doc and Warren were on the scene with the furiously expostulating landlord hot on their heels.

 

 

Niko sat, wrapped in a blanket, in the doorway of the van, watching the medical examiner's people load Susanna's body into their van. Doc stood in conversation with Detective Meeno Ridley; nearby, Private Warren was taking the boardinghouse landlord's statement while Detective Brianna Lee settled Burke into the back of a patrol car for transport to the spaceport and _Ranger One_. Goose, cleaned up and wearing Warren's sweater in place of his gore-smeared uniform shirt, walked toward her.

"Niko?"

Too drained to feel like talking, she just wiggled her fingers in a wave and leaned tiredly against the doorpost. Understanding was in his eyes as he settled next to her. "Okay?" he asked, and she understood what he was asking: Is it okay for me to sit so close? She nodded.

They were no longer in true rapport, but she realized that at some time in the past year, she had begun to be able to read his thoughts even without that closer contact.

Lean on me, girl, his thoughts whispered. I don't mind.

She looked up at his face and sighed.

And leaned on him.

"I just talked to Zach," he said. "The arraignment for the _Saoirse_ attackers went well." She felt his sides quiver in a silent laugh. "He said Aine ni Suileabhain was there with Captain Brennan. Said Brennan almost had to sit on the woman to keep her from standing up and cursing out all three suspects. He was glad to hear we managed to catch Burke—I think it was bugging him that we didn't get all four of them at the same time."

She chuckled a little.

"You about ready to blow this taco stand? 'Cause we've got one big arrest left to make, and I don't know about you, but I want some shuteye before we do it."

"Yes," she said quietly. "I'm still a little tired from the isolation tank, I guess."

"You can sleep on the ride home. And GV's got some highly tasty high-calorie paste stuff warmed up for you. I asked him myself."

She groaned and laughed at the same time. "I can hardly wait," she said sardonically.

"Hey, if you're really good, I'll let you have my share."

"If you're really good, you won't end up _wearing_ your share."


	12. Epilogue

Greer Latham's office

7/7/2099, 0900

 

 

Greer Latham worked out of a large, well-appointed office. His secretary, a capable-looking, attractive young woman, sat at a desk in front of his door, typing busily. She looked up as Niko and Goose came through the outer door and rose from her seat in consternation, her eyes wide. "Oh! Er—may I help you, ma'am? sir?" she asked, her voice doubtful.

"No, thank you," answered Niko. "Our business is with Dr. Latham." She headed straight for Latham's office door, but the secretary stepped in front of her, swallowing nervously.

"Ma'am! You—you can't go in there without an appointment—" the woman started, but stammered to a halt at the cold look on Niko's face. Goose walked forward, straight into the woman's personal space.

"Sit down and shut up," he snapped, and they both stared at the secretary until the woman subsided into her seat, her face strained. "And don't even think of announcing us," he added.

Greer Latham looked up from his work as the two Rangers came through the door. His eyebrows rose in well cultured surprise. Niko wasted no time on preliminaries but produced a data chip from her belt pouch. Holding it up, she said:

"Greer Latham, I have here a warrant for your arrest. The charges include conspiracy to commit kidnapping, incitement to kidnapping, conspiracy to commit assault, incitement to violence, inducing a minor to commit assault, conspiracy to commit assault on a law officer, interference with a law officer in the fulfillment of her duties, data fraud, conspiracy to commit data fraud, suborning BETA employees to commit espionage, violating the Articles of Confederation of the League of Planets, illegal genetic experimentation, assault on a minor, abuse of a minor, child endangerment, and blackmail."

Greer Latham smiled politely. "Good morning, Rangers Niko and Gooseman. Do you have witnesses to these alleged crimes?"

Niko smiled back. It wasn't a nice smile.

"As it happens—yes," she said. Goose stepped aside.

"Hello, Dr. Latham," said Gaea.

Latham paled, but his voice was steady and cold as he said, "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"Of course you do," Niko answered. "And even if you didn't know her, I'm sure you know the other star witness for the prosecution." Gaea held out her left hand. A child stepped from behind her to take it and looked coolly at the tall scientist. Latham's breath choked in his throat, rage clear on his face.

Goose brought out his handcuffs. "Turn around," he ordered.

The man didn't move.

"I'm not gonna repeat myself, Dr. Latham," he said. "Unless you'd like to let Gaea turn you?"

Teeth clenched, the scientist turned. He didn't resist as Goose locked the cuffs around his wrists and spun him back around. The motion brought him face to face with Winter, and he stared at her, his eyes ice cold and murderous with anger. The girl just looked back at him, calm and chill as snowfall.

"Greer Latham," said Winter, "your services are no longer required."


End file.
